FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A. Inc., a world leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), will create 725 jobs and expressed its intent to invest $2 billion in Wake County, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. The company will build North America’s largest end-to-end biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, confirming the central role of North Carolina’s Research Triangle region for the next generation of biotech medicines.
"Today’s decision shows once again that North Carolina is a world-class location for the most innovative biotech companies in the industry,” said Governor Cooper. “Since FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies already operates a facility in our state, they have complete confidence this new plant will succeed as well, thanks to North Carolina’s skilled workers, our commitment to workforce training, and the growing strength of our life science industrial cluster.”
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is a world leading Biologics Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with locations in the United Kingdom, Texas, and Denmark in addition to its Morrisville / Research Triangle Park campus. The company brings over thirty years of experience to the development and manufacturing of life-saving products, such as recombinant proteins, viral vaccines, viral vectors, monoclonal antibodies, and other large molecules and medical countermeasures. The company offers a comprehensive list of services from cell line development, using its proprietary pAVEway™ microbial and ApolloX™ cell line systems, to process development, analytical development, and clinical and FDA-approved commercial manufacturing.
The company’s North Carolina site has been in operation since 1996. The campus has expanded since its inception to include three buildings that house the company’s Process Development and Analytical Laboratories, cGMP Manufacturing Facility, and Administration. The site has more than 6o0 employees today.
“We are very appreciative of the commitment and the support given by the State of North Carolina to the growth of the Biopharmaceutical industry, said Kenji Sukeno, president of Fujifilm Corporation. “We are delighted to expand our footprint here in North Carolina as we fulfill our mission to help our customers accelerate development and supply of high-quality medicines to patients. “
“As a former executive in the life sciences sector, I’ve never seen a more exciting and promising time for this critical, North Carolina industry,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “As companies like FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies embrace innovation to support the delivery of new medicines in development by its customers, North Carolina must also embrace innovation to discover new ways to develop the skilled and diverse workforce 21st century companies need to thrive.”
Positions at the new facility will include engineers, scientists, manufacturing personnel, and other support positions and will generate nearly $85 million in payroll impact to the region each and every year.
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ project in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $5.5 billion. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $19,724,250, spread over 12 years, based on a required capital investment of $1.5 billion. Over those 12 years, new state tax revenues generated by the new jobs will exceed $160 million.
State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ JDIG agreement could also move as much as $6,574,750 into a fund that helps rural communities across the state attract business in the future. When companies select a site located in a Tier 3 county such as Wake, their JDIG agreements move some of the new tax revenue into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. Local communities in more economically challenged areas of the state use grants from the Utility Account to build public infrastructure projects, which can improve a community’s ability to attract companies to their regions.
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies was also awarded a grant of two million dollars today from the state’s One North Carolina Fund.
Partnering with the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of N.C. on this project were the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, the North Carolina Community College System, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Duke Energy, The UNC System Office, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central University, Duke University, the North Carolina Japan Center, Capital Area Workforce Development, Wake Tech, the Town of Holly Springs, Wake County, and Wake County Economic Development, a program of the Raleigh Chamber.
Video footage of today's announcement can be found here and here.
Photos from the event will be uploaded here, courtesy of Ethan Hyman from the News & Observer.
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