RALEIGH – Gilead Sciences will open its recently announced Triangle hub of operations in North Raleigh near the ever-expanding North Hills development. And the company is bringing more than 300 jobs along with the new offices.
Kane Realty, the developer of North Hills, announced Gilead’s choice on Tuesday.
The job total is actually higher than the 250 number announced by Gov. Roy Cooper when the Gilead expansion was disclosed in February.
Jobs will be in human resources, finance and information technology, according to the announcement.
Gilead will lease three floors in Midtown Plaza, which is owned by Lionstone Investments. The tower is near the North Hills Innovation District.
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“When the Kane Realty team developed plans for the Innovation District, we hoped to attract forward-thinking, innovative companies to North Hills,” said John Kane, CEO of Kane Realty, in Tuesday’s announcement. “That’s exactly what we found with Gilead Sciences, a revolutionary biopharmaceutical company that is working to improve public health day in and day out. We hope Gilead employees will enjoy the opportunity to work, live, socialize and spend time outdoors at North Hills.”
Gilead’s headquarters are in Foster City, California. It has operations in more than 35 countries worldwide, focusing on virology, inflammation, and oncology. The company’s project in North Carolina will create a new Business Services center delivering financial, human resources, and information technology services, including cybersecurity and digital transformation initiatives.
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Hooker Manning, director of office leasing and development at Kane Realty, noted that the innovation district drew Gilead’s attention early on.
“As Gilead Sciences began its search for office space in the Raleigh-Durham area, it was drawn to our plans for [North Hills Innovation District] for its employees – including the open natural space, walkable trails that connect to the Capital Area Greenway system, pedestrian bridges and more,” Manning said.
The North Hills operation won’t be the company’s first foray into North Carolina. Gilead had a 150-employee R&D facility in Durham at one time, but it closed that facility in 2010 and consolidated its research at its Foster City headquarters.
The company’s COVID-19 treatment remdesivir, developed by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 2020.
