(The Center Square) – More than $13 million in incentives from North Carolina are pledged to a biotech company making a $700 million investment, a move the Commerce Department says will grow the economy by more than $3 billion over the next dozen years.
Genentech, American-headquartered in San Francisco and subsidiary of the Roche Group headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, plans 420 jobs for the Wake County community of Holly Springs just outside of Raleigh. The production facility for obesity medicines, scheduled to open by the end of 2030, would measure about 700,000 square feet.
The jobs grant, through the Job Development Investment Grant approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee, is about $9.8 million and the package could reach $13.1 million. Local incentives under consideration are valued at $33.5 million.
The Commerce Department says Wake County’s average annual wage is $76,643 and the new positions will average $119,833.
In context, the use of hourly wage as an indicator is questioned because salaries of a few corporate leaders can skew the average higher while it would not have the same impact on the median wage. Economists question the effectiveness of financial incentives to private businesses to expand or come to a new state.
Holly Springs was recently the chosen destination for FujiFilm Diosynth and Biotechnologies. Diabetes and obesity treatments are associated with previous business decisions for Amgen’s expansion in Holly Springs; Novo Nordisk expansion to Johnston County; and Eli Lilly & Co. manufacturing sites in Research Triangle Park and Concord just outside of Charlotte.
“Our new facility near Raleigh, North Carolina, an established biopharmaceutical talent hub,” said Genentech CEO Ashley Magargee, “will serve as an important new setting within our manufacturing network to help deliver on the promise of our company’s life-changing science and industry-leading pipeline. We are thrilled to establish this relationship with the city of Holly Springs, where we expect to have a positive impact on the local economy and community, as we have across the United States since we pioneered the biotech industry nearly 50 years ago.”
