Scholars have documented economic gains for regions that promote manufacturing through co-location of innovation and production activities. But it is unclear whether the production jobs created in this new context remain inclusive of workers with limited formal education. This paper compares US states that specialize in biopharmaceuticals to understand who participates in a so-called working region. While some state policy-makers have privileged scientific and design occupations at the expense of the production workforce, regional actors in North Carolina have increased employment in design and development while growing their biopharmaceutical production base, aligning innovation and equity goals in the process.