Life science firm Amgen picks Holly Springs for plant, hundreds of jobs at $120,000 pay

RALEIGH – Life science firm Amgen will build a new plant in Holly Springs for biologics manufacturing, creating 355 jobs that will pay an average wage of nearly $120,000 a year.

The expansion was approved by the North Carolina Department of Commerce Economic Investment Committee at a meeting Tuesday morning.

Amgen will receive state incentives valued at some $12.6 million. The company plans to invest more than $380 million in the plant to qualify for state tax benefits but plans a total investment of $550 million, according to a Commerce spokesperson.

The Amgen deal is the second major life science expansion for Holly Springs announced this year. In March, Fuijifilm announced plans for a $2 billion plant and hundreds of jobs. Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) employs 24,000 people worldwide.

“Amgen has a long history in biologics manufacturing and continues to innovate and develop new technologies to better serve patients. At this new facility, we plan to include some of our most advanced technologies,” said Arleen Paulino, Amgen Senior Vice President of Manufacturing, in a statement. “We chose North Carolina for this new plant because of the robust biologics ecosystem, and we are excited to partner with the Wake County business community to further expand biotechnology regionally.”

Amgen focuses on manufacture of biologic medicines which are injected or administered intravenously.

Amgen’s mission

Amgen

Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology.

Source: Amgen

Added Amgen Vice President of Site Operations Bob Kenyon: “Beyond being a vibrant business environment, the area offers a skilled, trained and diverse talent pool that we know will help Amgen maintain its long history of serving patients.”

Holly Springs also is home to a massive vaccine production plant operated by Seqirus.

The Amgen decision also is the latest in a series of announcements reflecting strong growth in North Carolina’s life science sector.

According to the North Carolina Biotech Center, the state has announced more than 15 projects totalling more than $3 billion and the creation of new jobs topping 3,000. By comparison, through June of 2020 the state had made five announcements bringing about 20% of this year’s investments, the Biotech Center says. That 2020 number compares to eight announcements made through June 2019.

The Amgen deal and another announced for Cleveland County west of Charlotte are just the latest parts of an ongoing economic expansion in North Carolina. Some 100 new jobs announcements have been made across the state over the past year, according to data compiled by WRAL News. Those represent in total approximately 25,000 jobs.

The North Carolina Biotech Center awarded Amgen a $100,000 grant toward the new project.

“Amgen is a well-known leader in biotechnology,” said Bill Bullock, Senior Vice President of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, in a statement. “A company of this reputation has its pick of locations, but the fact that it has chosen Holly Springs is a validation of all of the efforts of the town, county and state. These employees will make a home here and will solidify this booming, valuable industry as part of the fabric of our business community.”