North Carolina Life Sciences Quick Facts

• 860 life sciences companies, including 124 international companies representing 26 countries and employing 21,000 people^[1]
• 76,000 life sciences employees^[1]
• 2,500 life sciences support and related company sites, including construction companies, staffing firms, and IP attorneys^[1]

Leading Production and Manufacturing Companies in NC

Eight of the top 10 largest pharma companies (based on 2025 revenue) will have operations in North Carolina, including AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, Roche/Genentech and Novartis.

North Carolina has 170+ life sciences manufacturing sites, employing 36,000 people, with leading companies such as Amgen, Baxter Healthcare, Biogen, Cook Medical, Genentech, Grifols, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Novonesis, Pfizer, Teleflex Medical, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Zoetis and more.^[1]  Of these 170+ sites, more than 90 sites manufacture biologics or pharmaceuticals.

Drug substance and drug product manufacturing in North Carolina includes small-molecule therapeutics, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, treatments for obesity and diabetes, plasma-derived proteins and cell- and gene-based therapies, and industrial enzymes.  

1. NCBiotech Company Directory

How to Refer to NCBiotech

• First reference: North Carolina Biotechnology Center
• Subsequent references: NCBiotech