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Dive brief:
- Genentech, a subsidiary of Roche Group, will double its initial investment in an upcoming biomanufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, to $2 billion, the San Francisco-based company said Tuesday.
- The additional capital will allow the company to increase production volume and the ability to scale within the facility, as well as create a total of 500 local manufacturing jobs, according to a news release. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2029.
- Genentech initially pledged $700 million last year to build the Holly Springs factory, the first on the East Coast. The location is designed to produce weight loss treatments and other metabolic drugs. Construction on the project began in August.
Diving knowledge:
The expansion is part of a wider one $50 billion commitment from Genentech and Roche to improve its operational footprint in the United States. Pharmaceutical giants like Lilly i Johnson & Johnson have made similar promises over the next five years in response to changing customer demand as the Trump administration’s tariffs disrupt supply chains, markets and production.
“This additional investment will create more high-quality jobs, strengthen local partnerships and ensure a resilient supply of medicines for years to come, allowing us to bring life-changing medicines to patients more quickly and reliably,” Genentech CEO Ashley Magargee said in a statement.
The company said it increased its investment due in part to the skilled local workforce and strong academic institutions in the Raleigh-Durham area. Holly Springs has quickly emerged as a national biopharma center, attracting investment from Fujifilm Biotechnologies of Diosynth i Amgen in recent years. Genentech’s 700,000-square-foot project will be equipped with biomanufacturing, automation and advanced digital tools to increase efficiency and sustainability, the company said.
Genentech received a $13.1 million state incentive package for the project, which includes a $9.8 million job creation grant, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The average salary for the new positions will be around $120,000.
Roche and Genentech currently have 13 manufacturing and 15 research and development facilities across the country, supporting 25,000 employees, according to a news release. As part of their broader investment plans in the United States, they are expanding and upgrading facilities in Kentucky, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon and California.
