RALEIGH, N.C. — Hours before Japan's prime minister arrived in North Carolina, a subsidiary of Japan's Fujifilm Corp. announced plans to open a large biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in the state, although initial stages have not yet been completed. The company announced plans for further expansion, pledging to produce an additional 680 plants. work.
Governor Roy Cooper has announced an additional $1.2 billion investment in Holly Springs, where Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies is currently constructing one of the world's largest cell culture facilities, along with company executives and local leaders. Published along with others. This number of new jobs is higher than the 725 jobs announced by the subsidiary when it announced an initial investment of $2 billion in March 2021.
Lars Petersen, president and CEO of the subsidiary, told reporters that the first phase of the plant is expected to be operational next year, with the expansion planned to be operational in early 2028. The set of jobs announced Thursday will be created starting in 2027 and will have an average minimum wage of nearly $110,000, state officials said.
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, which makes medicines and vaccines for other pharmaceutical companies, already has a campus in nearby Research Triangle Park and employs hundreds of people.
Cooper said the expansion is a result of the state's commitment to becoming a national leader in life sciences, with more than 800 companies employing more than 75,000 skilled workers across the state. Stated.
“It's clear that North Carolina has become an advanced manufacturing powerhouse,” Cooper said at the announcement in downtown Raleigh, less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Holly Springs.
The press conference also celebrated a new injection of capital into North Carolina by a major Japanese company as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida prepares to arrive in the state later Thursday.
Kishida's schedule Friday includes visits to Honda Aircraft Corp.'s Greensboro headquarters and Toyota Motor Corporation, where it is building North America's first electric and hybrid battery factory in Randolph County. Mr. Kishida's visit to the United States has already included a speech at a joint session of the House and Senate and an attendance at a White House state dinner.
“This is a state with deep ties to Japan, and we want to celebrate our economic, academic and cultural ties,” said Cooper, who will also host a luncheon with the premier at the governor's mansion on Friday.
Fujifilm was considering Thursday's investment in Singapore, as well as Denmark and near existing facilities in California's Ventura County, according to documents from the state Department of Commerce.
State officials said the company could receive more than $72 million in state and local incentives. A state commission on Thursday agreed to award nearly $15 million of those incentives in cash payments over 12 years if companies meet job retention and investment criteria. The company also received an incentive package in 2021.
New investments in Holly Springs, including additional bioreactors, will meet the growing demand for biologic medicines and benefit oncology, immunology and pandemic preparedness, Petersen said. Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies has collaborated with Novavax to produce a COVID-19 vaccine.