North Carolina achieved a record-breaking year for life sciences investments in 2024.
Twenty-five companies announced expansions or new facilities totaling more than $10.8 billion. The projects are expected to create more than 4,500 jobs in 16 communities across the state.
“The confidence of these companies to invest in North Carolina is a wonderful reflection on the North Carolina life sciences ecosystem,” said Laura Rowley, Ph.D., vice president of Life Sciences Economic Development at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. “Long-term strategic investments have built robust training and education infrastructure to nurture continued growth.”
Four of the world’s biggest life sciences brands announced projects of $1 billion or more. Notably, three of the investments were expansions of existing sites, a “testament to the favorable environment in the state,” Rowley said.
Novo Nordisk will 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. The project, one of the largest in Novo Nordisk’s 101-year history, will expand the company’s ability to produce injectable treatments for obesity and other serious chronic diseases.
Novo Nordisk has called North Carolina home for 30 years and has reinvested in its facilities several times. The company has long supported workforce training and education initiatives in the region and has partnerships with Johnston County Community College and Durham Technical Community College.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) will invest more than $2 billion in a new manufacturing campus in Wilson for its Janssen Biotech subsidiary. The facility will create 420 jobs over five years and produce innovative biologics. Wilson Community College will build a state-of-the-art training facility to expand biologics manufacturing training capabilities in North Carolina to support the success of J&J along with current and future life sciences employers.
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies will invest $1.2 billion and add 680 jobs in an expansion of its contract biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Holly Springs. The expansion follows the company’s 2021 announcement that it would build a new $2 billion facility – one of North America’s largest end-to-end biopharmaceutical manufacturing plants – with 700 jobs. The expansion is driven in part by J&J’s Janssen Supply Group committing to a large-scale manufacturing suite at the facility.
Amgen will establish a second drug substance manufacturing facility on its existing Holly Springs campus, only three years after it announced it would build the campus in North Carolina. The $1.02 billion expansion will add 370 jobs. Amgen is preparing to welcome its first 12 apprentices from Wake Technical Community College.
BioPharma Crescent wins seven projects
J&J’s investment in Wilson and Novo Nordisk’s expansion in Clayton were among seven life sciences projects totaling about $7 billion announced in the BioPharma Crescent in Eastern North Carolina. Other notable announcements include:
- Reckitt Benckiser will establish a major production plant in Wilson to produce the over-the-counter medicine Mucinex, investing $145.5 million and creating 289 jobs.
- IDEXX Laboratories will build a $147 million manufacturing plant to produce veterinary diagnostics products in Wilson, creating 275 jobs.
- Nipro Medical will invest $397.8 million to develop a new medical equipment manufacturing facility in Greenville, creating 232 jobs.
- SCHOTT Pharma USA will invest $371 million in a new manufacturing site in Wilson that will create 401 jobs. The site will produce pre-fillable polymer and glass syringes for injectable medicines made by pharmaceutical clients.
- Neopac US will invest $10 million to expand its production of packaging tubes for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in Wilson, creating 27 jobs.
“These investments affirm that the BioPharma Crescent is a dynamic and advantageous place for life sciences manufacturing,” said Mark Phillips, NCBiotech’s vice president of statewide operations and executive director of the Eastern Regional Office. “These facilities will generate high-paying jobs and other community benefits for years to come.”
The BioPharma Crescent – encompassing Johnston, Pitt and Wilson counties – has one of the greatest concentrations of biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities on the East Coast, employing 10,000 people. In addition to low taxes, abundant utilities and performance-based incentive grants, the region offers several biopharmaceutical training programs that provide a skilled workforce for the industry.
Dozen communities statewide also gain investments
Other areas of the state also registered significant life sciences investments in 2024 with projects planned in 12 communities: Cary, Durham, Garner, Greensboro, High Point, Lenoir, Morrisville, Research Triangle Park, Sanford, Wilkesboro, Wilmington and Youngsville.
Kyowa Kirin, a Japanese pharmaceutical company new to North Carolina, will build its first North American pharmaceutical manufacturing operation, investing up to $530 million and creating 102 jobs to establish a biologics manufacturing Center of Excellence in Sanford. The facility will produce biologic therapies for patients with rare and serious diseases.
In Wilmington, Frontier Scientific Solutions will build a global logistics center for time- and temperature-sensitive biopharmaceutical products at the international airport there. The facility, along with a new one in Ireland, is significant because North Carolina pharmaceutical manufacturers depend on logistics companies like Frontier for cold storage and shipment of products to European markets. The total investment for the project is estimated at $1.2 billion.
North Carolina wins accolades
The same attributes and advantages that enticed many life sciences companies to invest in North Carolina earned the state several business accolades in 2024.
- In Site Selection magazine’s annual site selectors survey, North Carolina was best state in the nation for manufacturing and second-best state for business climate. Plus, Charlotte and Raleigh ranked No. 2 and No. 5 respectively as best cities for headquarters.
- Area Development, an executive magazine covering corporate site selection and relocation, ranked North Carolina as the top state for access to qualified talent.
- Raleigh climbed to No. 1 in the Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Large Cities list for 2025. The city’s strong overall performance was paced by ranking fourth in the number of high-tech industries, sixth for wage growth and eighth for job growth.
- North Carolina was one of the leading recipients of research funding from the National Institutes of Health, according to Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The NIH awarded Duke University about $701.94 million, the fifth highest amount to an individual recipient in the country, while UNC-Chapel Hill ranked No. 15 with $559.51 million. RTI International was also one of the NIH’s top recipients, having been awarded about $550.92 million.
Workforce development efforts progress
Workforce development is a frequently cited advantage for life sciences companies investing in biomanufacturing expansions and new facilities in North Carolina. NCBiotech’s Life Sciences Economic Development group continued its efforts to prepare a skilled workforce in 2024.
at Novonesis. The ambassadors received some bioscience training and other information so they
could then talk to their networks about life sciences jobs across North Carolina.
NCBiotech’s Military Outreach & Veterans Engagement (MOVE) initiative became a U.S. Department of Defense Skillbridge partner, enabling its expansion to military bases across the state. MOVE places veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses into life sciences manufacturing training programs and on-the-job internshps, ultimately paving the way for full-time positions in life sciences manufacturing.
The NC Life Sciences Apprenticeship Consortium has now supported 249 individuals with scholarships to complete the BioWork course as a pre-apprenticeship leading to careers in biomanufacturing. Six member companies – Amgen, Biogen, CSL Seqirus, Lilly, Merck and Novo Nordisk – have launched registered apprenticeship programs.
NCBiotech’s STEM outreach efforts shared information on life sciences training and career opportunities with more than 400 middle school and high school students.
Industry grows ever larger
North Carolina’s life sciences accomplishments in 2024 gave the state a rolling start into the new year.
The state began 2025 with the largest number of life sciences companies and employees ever, according to figures compiled by NCBiotech. The organization’s company directory lists 840 life sciences companies, which employ more than 75,000 people. Another 2,500 companies provide products and services in support of the life sciences industry such as staffing, real estate, venture capital, equipment and clinical trials management.
Collectively life sciences companies pay an average annual wage of $112,000 – nearly double the average wage for North Carolina’s overall private-sector workforce, according to the 2022 TEConomy Partners report, and the industry also generates $2.4 billion in combined state and local government revenue.
“North Carolina enjoyed substantial growth with major economic impact in 2024, and we hope to build on that momentum in 2025,” Rowley said. “The state is well positioned for more life sciences investments and the fulfilling careers they provide.”
