AbbVie selects Durham County for new $1.4B drug manufacturing facility

AbbVie today announced a $1.4 billion investment to build a new drug production facility on a 185-acre campus in Durham County, where the company expects to employ 734 people. 

The company’s state-of-the-art facility at this new campus in Durham County, near Research Triangle Park, will have production and manufacturing operations for its current and future medicines in the areas of immunology, oncology and neuroscience. 

This project represents AbbVie's largest-ever capital investment in a single campus, the company said.

“We welcome AbbVie’s major investment to North Carolina,” said N.C. Gov. Josh Stein. “When you combine our world-renowned research and innovation with a strong, thriving life sciences hub, North Carolina quickly becomes the premier location for biopharmaceutical companies to do business.”

AbbVie, headquartered in North Chicago, Ill, is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Its investment in North Carolina marks continued progress against its $100 billion commitment to U.S. manufacturing, research and development (R&D) and capital investments over the next decade. 

With the addition of AbbVie to North Carolina’s life sciences ecosystem, the state will be home to the operations of 8 out of the top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies by revenue. The 185-acre campus, the exact location of which has not been disclosed, will integrate advanced manufacturing and laboratory technologies with artificial intelligence to support the production of AbbVie’s medicines, the state said.

“AbbVie’s investment in North Carolina represents a significant milestone for our company as our largest capital investment to date and an important expansion of our manufacturing footprint into a new region of the United States,” said Robert A. Michael, AbbVie’s chairman and chief executive officer. “By establishing this campus, we are strengthening our ability to support future medical breakthroughs while also creating new jobs and a long-term partnership with Durham and the State of North Carolina.”

AbbVie's mission is “to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow,” and “to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas, including immunology, neuroscience and oncology.”

The company said the average annual salary for the approximately 734 jobs expected at the new facility would be $118,000. The average annual salary in Durham County currently is $102,817.

“This decision further cements North Carolina’s position at the forefront of the global life sciences industry,” said N.C. Commerce Sec. Lee Lilley. “As our pharmaceutical sector grows, we remain fully committed to cultivating the highly skilled workforce, infrastructure, and ecosystem needed to deliver lifesaving medicines to patients around the world for companies like AbbVie.”

The state’s Economic Investment Committee (EIC) approved job-based incentives for AbbVie totaling as much as $26 million. The incentives include workforce development and training from the North Carolina Community College System, plus local and county and utility incentives. The project is expected to grow the state’s economy by $8 billion, the EIC said. 

In addition to the North Carolina Dept. of Commerce, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, and the Durham Chamber of Commerce, partners who helped bring AbbVie to North Carolina include the North Carolina General Assembly, North Carolina Dept. of Transportation, the North Carolina Community College System, Durham Tech and Wake Tech community colleges, North Carolina Central University, Duke University, Duke Energy, Enbridge Gas North Carolina, Durham County, the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Durham.

“With continuous reinvestment in its training infrastructure, North Carolina remains eager to expand upon its strengths in biomanufacturing,” said Laura Rowley, vice president, life sciences economic development, NCBiotech. “We are thrilled that AbbVie has selected Durham County and look forward to partnering to support the success of their North Carolina team.”

The new AbbVie facility is the company’s first location in North Carolina. The first phase of construction will include small volume parenteral (SVP) drug product manufacturing facilities, next-generation laboratories, a warehouse, administrative offices and employee wellness facilities with room to support AbbVie's growing pipeline, the company said.

Small volume parenterals are sterile injectable pharmaceutical products with volumes typically less than 100 mL, including vials, prefilled cartridges and prefilled syringes containing medicines for injection or infusion. When completed, this campus will serve as AbbVie's U.S. center of excellence for SVP manufacturing and deliver next-generation medicines to patients in the U.S. and worldwide.

AbbVie, which was spun out from Abbott Laboratories in 2013, recently announced a $380 million investment to build two new active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facilities at its current North Chicago, Ill., campus. AbbVie has 55,000 employees worldwide across 175 countries. It operates 24 manufacturing facilities, and its products treat more than 60 million patients every year.