FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies North Carolina, Inc. will expand its biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Wake County, adding 680 jobs and investing $1.2 billion in the Town of Holly Springs, Governor Cooper announced today.
In 2021, the company announced that it would construct one of North America’s largest end-to-end biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Holly Springs, creating over 700 jobs and investing $2 billion in Wake County. With today’s additional investment, the facility will expand its capacity for drug substance production to contain two production modules, each with 20,000-L production bioreactors, harvesting capabilities, and downstream processing.
“The new jobs created by the expansion of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies in Wake County is yet another example of the thriving economic relationship between North Carolina and Japan, and we are grateful for their continuing investments in our state,” Governor Cooper said. “Japanese companies continue to provide good-paying jobs and economic opportunity for people across North Carolina.”
A leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for more than 30 years, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is based in Denmark and is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based FUJIFILM, a Japanese conglomerate. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies also has operations in the United Kingdom and Texas. The company develops 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 cell line systems, to process development, analytical development, and clinical and FDA-approved commercial manufacturing.
“At FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, we are committed to supporting a healthier society by providing state-of-the-art manufacturing expertise and capabilities which enable our partners to bring life-impacting medicines to patients in the United States and worldwide. On behalf of our company and its employees, we are extremely grateful to Governor Cooper, elected officials, economic and workforce development partners, Wake County, the Town of Holly Springs, the residents of North Carolina, and our life science industry partners for embracing FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies as we expand our manufacturing network in the US and Europe with this North Carolina facility and collectively build a vibrant life sciences ecosystem in the state,” said Lars Petersen, president and chief executive officer, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. “North Carolina, in particular Holly Springs, is the ideal location for the $1.2 billion expansion of our large-scale cell culture biomanufacturing site, because of its sustainable energy resources, infrastructure, and strong pool of diverse and highly-skilled talent.”
“FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is a globally recognized powerhouse in the life sciences industry,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “I am beyond excited for our community, our life sciences ecosystem, and our world-class workforce to grow alongside the company as we continue to create innovative, high-quality medicine together.”
Positions at the facility will include engineers, scientists, manufacturing personnel, and other support positions. Salaries will vary by position; however, the average annual wage is $109,923, exceeding the Wake County average of $74,866. These new jobs could create a potential payroll impact of more than $74.4 million for the region each 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 $4.7 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 $14,989,500, spread over 12 years. 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.
The project’s projected return on investment of public dollars is 298 percent, meaning for every dollar of potential cost to the state, the state receives $3.98 in state revenue. 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 $4,996,500 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.
“This is incredible news for the Town of Holly Springs, Wake County and the entire state of North Carolina,” said N.C. Representative Julie von Haefen. “We are pleased to see that our reputation for such immense research and manufacturing talent continues to attract biopharmaceutical companies from across the world.”
“These high-paying jobs and billion-dollar investment will significantly boost our local economy and thriving life science cluster,” said N.C. Senator Sydney Batch. “This expansion not only underscores the attractiveness of Southern Wake County for business growth, but also highlights the collaborative efforts of our economic development professionals and state officials. We are thrilled that FUJIFILM has chosen to expand in North Carolina, bringing more innovation, opportunity, and prosperity to our community.”
Partnering with the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina on this project were the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Community College System, Wake Technical Community College, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, North Carolina State University, the North Carolina Japan Center, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, the Capital Area Workforce Development Board, the Wake County Board of Commissioners, the Town of Holly Springs, and Wake County Economic Development, a program of the Raleigh Chamber.
In October 2023, Governor Cooper and Secretary Sanders led a North Carolina delegation to Japan to the annual Southeastern United States/Japan (SEUS/Japan) Economic Development Conference in Tokyo to recruit industry and meet with business leaders and others. They met with senior executives of FUJIFILM to discuss the ongoing progress of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies project in Holly Springs and opportunities for further investment.
Japan is one of the nation’s largest trading partners and home to 225 companies with large presences in North Carolina. In the past decade, Japan has accounted for nearly half of all foreign direct investment (FDI) in North Carolina, making it our largest source of FDI. More than 30,500 North Carolinians go to work at Japanese-owned companies, with several thousand more scheduled to start in the next five years. In recent years, companies including Toyota, Honda Aircraft and Dai Nippon Printing have announced significant investments in North Carolina communities. Last October, Toyota announced plans to invest an additional $8 billion in its electric battery manufacturing site in Randolph County, including hiring another 3,000 employees. Toyota’s total investment in the Randolph County site will now total $13.9 billion and more than 5,000 jobs.
This year’s SEUS/Japan Conference will be held in Charlotte, a milestone event that will showcase North Carolina’s economy and build greater ties between the state and Japan.
Since taking office, Gov. Cooper’s sustained engagement with Japanese leaders and employers has paid dividends for North Carolina’s economy. From his trip to Tokyo in 2017 to hosting the SEUS/Japan Conference next fall, Gov. Cooper has made it a priority to recruit good-paying jobs from Japanese companies in high-growth industries like aerospace, electric vehicles and biotechnology.
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