Biopharmaceutical titan Amgen, one of the founding companies of the biotechnology industry, is planning a major expansion of its biomanufacturing site in Holly Springs, N.C., adding $1.018 billion to its initial investment and 370 more high-paying jobs.
The news, announced Dec. 5 in a ceremony at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, comes only three years after the company announced in August 2021 that it would establish a $550 million drug substance manufacturing facility employing 355 people in the town, 20 miles southwest of Raleigh.
The addition of a second manufacturing facility on the Holly Springs campus brings the company’s total planned investment in the site to more than $1.5 billion and total jobs to 725.
Although specific wages will vary depending on job role, the average salary of the new positions is $91,527, bringing more than $33 million of annual payroll growth to the region. The current average wage in Wake County is $74,866.
"North Carolina’s reputation as one of the world’s leading centers for biotechnology soars even higher with today’s decision by Amgen,” said North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. “North Carolina offers everything an innovative biotech company needs to succeed, especially our highly trained, dedicated and diverse workforce, which is fine-tuned to the needs of this critical industry.”
Amgen chose Holly Springs from among four other potential sites after conducting a national search. The other finalist site was in Lebanon, Ind.
The company said in a news release that its choice of North Carolina reflects the state’s position as a “premier life sciences destination, with a vibrant ecosystem of innovation and a skilled workforce.”
The Holly Springs site will use traditional drug substance manufacturing technologies and Amgen’s latest innovations to operate a hybrid facility called FleXBatch. By increasing efficiencies in manufacturing, this approach will help Amgen achieve its company-wide sustainability goals of reducing water use by 40%, cutting waste disposal by 75% and becoming carbon neutral by 2027.
“This expansion underscores our unwavering focus on bringing transformative medicines to patients around the world,” said Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer at Amgen. “North Carolina will be an important part of our global manufacturing network as we continue to meet the growing demand for our innovative therapies while generating significant local economic impact.”
Amgen’s decision to locate – and now expand – in Holly Springs fortifies the town’s and state’s reputations as biomanufacturing hubs. This announcement brings the total life sciences manufacturing investment in North Carolina to nearly $10 billion for the year.
In fact, Amgen’s announcement is the second billion-dollar expansion announced in 2024 in Holly Springs. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced in April that it would double its $2 billion biomanufacturing facility under construction in the town, with an additional $1.2 billion investment and 680 jobs. When completed, the facility will be the largest end-to-end cell culture CDMO site in North America.
CSL Seqirus selected Holly Spring in 2006 as the home for the nation’s first cell-based influenza vaccine manufacturing facility and has reinvested several times since then. In 2022, the company completed a $156 million expansion at the site, giving it 475,000 square feet of space – about the size of eight football fields.
The Danish healthcare company Novo Nordisk announced in June it would invest $4.1 billion to expand its fill and finish operations in Clayton, creating 1,000 new jobs and adding 1.4 million square feet of new manufacturing space for the production of injectable treatments for people with diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases. It is the largest capital investment ever in North Carolina’s life sciences industry, surpassing the FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies expansion in Holly Springs.
Beyond expansions, North Carolina has also attracted significant investment to establish new company sites.
Johnson & Johnson, a global health care and medtech company, announced plans in October to invest more than $2 billion to build a new biologics production facility in Wilson. The new plant will occupy more than 300,000 square feet of space and create 420 jobs over five years.
In September, Kyowa Kirin broke ground in Sanford for the Japanese company’s first U.S. manufacturing site—a $530 million biologics manufacturing facility that will create more than 100 jobs.
“The longstanding and authentic partnerships across North Carolina have created a strong foundation for the life sciences industry to thrive, while the state’s commitment to continuous improvement paves the way for continued growth and opportunity.” said Laura Rowley, Ph.D., vice president of life science economic development for NCBiotech. “North Carolina’s life sciences industry provides fulfilling careers for thousands in the state and impacts patient lives around the world.”