Dive Brief:
- Genentech, a subsidiary of Roche Group, will more than double its initial investment in an upcoming Holly Springs, North Carolina, biomanufacturing facility to $2 billion, the San Francisco-based company said Tuesday.
- The additional capital will allow the company to increase production volume and scale capacity within the facility, as well as create a total of 500 local manufacturing jobs, according to a news release. The plant is set to be operational by 2029.
- Genentech initially pledged $700 million last year to build the Holly Springs factory, its first on the East Coast. The location is designed to produce weight-loss treatments and other metabolic medicines. Construction on the project began in August.
Dive Insight:
The expansion is part of a broader $50 billion commitment from Genentech and Roche to improve their U.S. operational footprint. Pharmaceutical giants such as Lilly and Johnson & Johnson have made similar pledges over the next five years in response to shifting 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 faster and more 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 rapidly emerged as a national biopharmaceutical hub, attracting investments from Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies and Amgen in recent years. Genentech’s 700,000-square-foot project will be outfitted with advanced biomanufacturing, automation and digital tools to boost efficiency and sustainability, the company said.
Genentech received a $13.1 million state incentive package for the project, including a job creation grant worth $9.8 million, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The average salary of the new positions will be about $120,000.
Currently, Roche and Genentech have 13 manufacturing and 15 research and development facilities across the nation, supporting 25,000 employees, according to a news release. As part of their broader U.S. investment plans, they are expanding and upgrading facilities in Kentucky, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon and California.
