Amgen to add 370 jobs as part of $1B investment in Holly Springs, NC officials say

Biopharma company Amgen plans to add 370 jobs as part of a new, $1.02 billion investment in Holly Springs. It’s the latest move by the company to expand manufacturing capacity in the fast-growing southern Wake County town, which has become a biotechnology hub in recent years.

Amgen’s plans were announced Thursday morning by state officials as they approved an incentives package worth up to $6.5 million — the second major state grant awarded for the Thousand Oaks, California-based company in the past several years. Local incentives totaling about $40 million in tax breaks are also being considered, officials said.

The announcement comes as the company is still ramping up operations at its first Holly Springs plant, which is scheduled to open next year. Amgen — which makes medicines that treat cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and inflammatory diseases among others — said Thursday it plans to establish a second drug-substance manufacturing facility on its existing Holly Springs campus, helping the company meet long-term growth projections.

The company would make the investment by the end of 2029 and create the positions between 2028 and 2032, officials said during a specially held meeting of the state Commerce Department's Economic Investment Committee.

The jobs — including engineers, technicians, quality control analysts, and supply chain managers — are expected to pay a minimum average wage of $91,527, officials said. That’s about 22% above the average annual wage for private sector jobs in Wake County, according to state data. The company also considered a site in Lebanon, Indiana, before settling on Holly Springs, according to state records.

"Amgen's decision to reinvest here in North Carolina highlights the state as a premier destination for life sciences," Paul Lewus, the vice president of Amgen's North Carolina site operations, said Thursday during an event at the North Carolina Biotech Center. "There is a vibrant biotechnology ecosystem with a diverse and incredibly highly skilled workforce."

WRAL News first reported the company’s expansion plans on Wednesday after regular trading on the Nasdaq. The company, one of the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average, announced the expansion Thursday, ahead of regular trading. The company’s share price slid 1.4% to $274.33 during regular trading on Thursday. Amgen’s stock has fallen about 7.8% this year.

Amgen broke ground on its first Holly Springs plant — on the northwest side of Holly Springs, south of U.S. 1 — in 2022. Operations in that plant are expected to begin next year, and the facility could employ about 355 workers by the end of 2029. The state awarded the company a grant worth up to $11.6 million for that expansion, provided the company hits hiring and investment targets.

Thursday’s announcement brings the company's total planned investment in Holly Springs to about $1.57 billion, with expectations to create about 725 jobs. The latest project is expected to boost the state’s economy by about $3.59 billion over the 12-year life of the incentives approved Thursday.

The latest incentives package includes a jobs grant worth up to $4.9 million. The money would be paid out in pieces if the company hits investment and hiring targets, and if it's in compliance with the terms of the previous grant. The incentives package also includes funding for training through the community college system and the state Division of Workforce Solutions.

Boosting drug development

Amgen is one of the world’s biggest biotechnology companies, with about 27,000 employees worldwide. The company, which reported about $28.2 billion in revenue in 2023, has been growing in part through acquisitions. For instance, it recently acquired Horizon Therapeutics to bolster its rare-disease offerings in a deal worth $27.8 billion. But the company has also focused heavily on expanding its development of new treatments, which is where North Carolina comes in.

Developing new treatments can help the company combat potential revenue losses as competitors ready generic substitutes to compete with some of Amgen’s older, more lucrative drugs. It makes more than two dozen drugs, including the psoriasis medication Otezla. The company didn’t specify which products would be manufactured at the new North Carolina expansion, but the factory could play a role in making new drugs that make it through clinical trials and regulatory approvals.

“Amgen has several interesting candidates in its pipeline, which represent significant commercial potential,” analysts at Zacks Investment Research wrote in a recent investor note.

Wall Street has been particularly interested in Amgen’s efforts to elbow its way into the fast-growing weight-loss drug market. It is currently developing a GLP-1 drug to compete with companies such as Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly & Co., which makes Zepbound and Mounjaro.

Drugmakers have targeted North Carolina for the production of weight-loss treatments. Novo Nordisk, which has long manufactured and packaged treatments for diabetes and obesity at facilities in Johnston and Durham counties, announced plans in June for a $4.1 billion expansion that is expected to create 1,000 jobs in Johnston County. Since 2020, Eli Lilly has committed more than $16 billion to develop new manufacturing sites in the U.S. and Europe, including locations in Research Triangle Park and Concord.

Thursday’s news about Amgen’s Wake County expansion immediately grabbed the attention of industry observers. Analysts at Citi’s 2024 Global Healthcare Conference in Miami took note of the state’s growing role in the manufacturing of weight-loss drugs and asked Amgen executives about the company’s North Carolina plans during a session that started about an hour after the expansion announcement was made.

Peter Griffith, the company’s chief financial officer, said the company takes a holistic look at its global manufacturing operations to maximize output, and he said the North Carolina expansion is an important part of the broader strategy, but he didn’t provide specifics about production plans in Holly Springs.

“We're excited about North Carolina,” Griffith told analysts at Citi’s 2024 Global Healthcare Conference in Miami. “We're grateful for a wonderful, diverse workforce there. We're grateful for the support of the local community. And we're really looking forward to a fantastic drug substance.”

Biotech cluster

The Triangle has long been a magnet for life sciences and biotech companies due to its affordability compared with other hubs such as the San Francisco Bay area and the Boston metropolitan area, as well as access to a strong talent pool and access to an international airport.

"We are one of the world's most important centers in biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturing, and we're also recognized for our cutting-edge research and for the university interactions," North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders said Thursday. "And that whole ecosystem of innovation that we have built — that leadership — will help more people stay healthy and save lives and help healthcare providers. It really contributes to the life of millions of people around the globe."

Holly Springs in particular has lured biotech companies because of its proximity to a large cluster of life sciences companies in Research Triangle Park. Efforts by local officials to expand infrastructure and make way for shovel-ready sites capable of handling biotech companies have also helped.

In April, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies announced plans to add 680 high-paying jobs at its Holly Springs campus — part of a $1.2 billion expansion of what is expected to be one of the biggest biomanufacturing facilities of its kind in North America. That expansion would bring the company’s total investment in Holly Springs to more than $3.2 billion, with employment expected to reach 1,400 by 2031, officials said.

Diosynth’s project is expected to have an economic impact of $4.76 billion if the company hits hiring goals. Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson company, is expected to occupy space at the Diosynth campus, the company previously said.

Global vaccine maker CSL Seqirus, which finished a $156 million Holly Springs plant in 2022, said in September and October that it had received a combined $155.4 million in grants to help it increase the inventory of a key component of a proprietary bird flu vaccine and to deliver finished doses of the vaccine.

"We got an unwavering commitment to making sure that we're supporting the life science industry," Holly Springs Sean Mayefskie said Thursday. "The quicker these companies can get to market, the quicker that life-saving medicine gets to the people that need it."

In July, the state Local Government Commission approved $368 million in loans and bonds to help three municipalities — Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs in Wake County and Sanford in Lee County — join forces to increase water supply to the region.

Just a short drive south on U.S. 1 from Holly Springs are multiple large pharmaceutical plants in Lee County. Pfizer has had a plant there for years that's one of the county's biggest employers, but recently conducted layoffs after a drug in the pipeline failed to win FDA approval. And earlier this year Japanese pharmaceutical company Kiowa Kirin announced plans to more than double the scope of its new Sanford plant, with more than half a billion dollars in planned investments.

Water and sewage capacity are particularly important to biotechnology companies. Such infrastructure improvements make it easier for the town to lure companies and the residual businesses that follow, town officials say.

Amgen and other companies that have relocated to or expanded in the Triangle have cited the region’s strong talent pool, including graduates of major research universities such as North Carolina State, Duke and the University of North Carolina, as well as access to workforce training through the region’s community colleges.

In 2022, Wake Technical Community College opened the Lilly Science and Technology Center in Morrisville. The center received a $1.1 million contribution from Eli Lilly to support biotech and life sciences programs — the biggest single corporate contribution in Wake Tech history. The center is also home to a program through the Wake County Public School System that offers biotechnology education for high school students — an effort to prepare them for college or careers in the industry. Amgen also funds a laboratory on the Wake Tech campus.

Lewus praised WakeTech's leadership while touting a new apprenticeship program aimed at preparing future Amgen workers, saying the community college's staff has been "true, long-term partners to help us build our workforce of tomorrow."