Biotech hot spots

For a biotechnology startup looking for a headquarters, choosing the perfect location can be tricky. Here are five biotech hot spots, chosen from FSB's list of the 100 Best Places to Live and Launch.

Research Triangle Park, an expansive high technology and research development center, is what makes Durham a prime startup location. Founded in 1959, RTP is where big players such as GlaxoSmithKline and Biogen Idec operate alongside fledgling ventures.

Covering 7,000 acres between five top universities, including Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the area benefits from a constant flow of highly educated computing, engineering and science graduates. Other local assets include a wealth of attorneys that specialize in intellectual property law and the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, a nonprofit that works with life science and tech entrepreneurs to help turn ideas into products, then a company. Its 17th annual biotech conference will be held this May.

NEXT: Worcester, Mass.