The first internationalization mission of the Epicentre project has concluded. The Italian partners of the Campania Bioscience Technological District have explored opportunities related to the US market through a visit that focused on the Florida High Tech Corridor in Orlando, including a meeting with Healthware Group. Furthermore, as part of the internationalization process, discussions have also been initiated with The Research Triangle in North Carolina.

It was an opportunity to better understand the American realities and lay the groundwork for effective collaboration both within Epicentre and among the involved clusters.

Florida High Tech Corridor

The 23-county region that defines The Corridor is anchored by three of the country’s largest research institutions: the University of Central Florida (UCF), the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Florida (UF). The mission is to converge and catalyze the capacity of high tech, innovation, and bright minds to generate a global ripple effect that advances the lives of people in the communities we serve. Powered by an ethos of collaboration, the cluster align opportunities and resources in academia, industry, and economic development to unleash the region’s exponential potential.

The Industry the Corridor helps to expand include:

• Aerospace + Aviation • Agritechnology • Energy + Environmental Sciences

• Financial Technology • Gaming, Entertainment + eSports

• Information Technology

• Life Sciences + Medical Technologies

• Microelectronics, Nanotechnology + Sensors

• Modeling, Simulation + Training • Optics + Photonics

The Corridor is among 24 U.S. clusters enrolled in the European Cluster Collaboration Platform. In Florida, Epicentre met also Cenfluenc: the Central Florida Cluster Initiative, an establishment of organizations within a formal cluster structure to optimize the strategic benefits of clustering activities.

The Research Triangle

North Carolina is a dynamic and growing state with a robust economy, with a GDP equivalent to that of Sweden, and a diverse population of 10.6 million people. It offers a competitive business environment with the lowest corporate tax rate on the East Coast (currently 2.5%, decreasing to 0% by 2030) and the largest manufacturing workforce in the Southeastern United States.

Regarding Epicentre’s primary sectors of interest, here is a photo of the scenario:

• Life Sciences: North Carolina boasts a thriving life sciences cluster with over 790 companies and 70,000 employees, many of which are situated in the Research Triangle Park (RTP).

• Food and Agriculture: Ranking as the fourth-largest food and beverage industry in the US, North Carolina houses over 1000 food and beverage manufacturing operations.

• Information and Communication Technology (ICT): This sector is booming in North Carolina, hosting numerous Fortune 500 companies like SAS, IBM, and Lenovo.

• FinTech: North Carolina's FinTech industry is experiencing rapid growth, attracting both established firms like LendingTree and FIS, as well as emerging FinTech startups.

New York: the future of health lives here

New York is one of the cities in the United States with the greatest ferment in the life sciences context. This last stage of the internationalization mission, allowed us to start a fruitful relationship with one of the main companies dealing with marketing in the digital health field: Healthware Group, recently acquired by Eversana. In these weeks, the acquisition process is being finalized.

During the visit in New York, Epicentre team had the opportunity to deepen the current scenario of the healthcare sector in the U.S. city, reporting some of the key findings of the "Q1 2024 New York Healthcare Innovation Report" - DHYN.

The digital health community was feeling better about 2024 than they did about 2023. The uptick in funding in the first quarter seems to reflect that optimism: in Q1, 29 companies raised $914M, exceeding the previous two quarters combined.