Gilead Sciences Investing Up To $5M, Creating 275 Jobs in Raleigh Office Hub

Gov. Roy Cooper announced today that California-based biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq; GILD), will invest up to $5 million to establish a 275-employee business services and information technology hub in Wake County.

“With today’s announcement, Gilead confirms that North Carolina sits at the crossroads of technology and life science innovation and offers the talent, infrastructure, and business environment needed to support their success,” said Cooper in a prepared statement.

Gilead Sciences, with headquarters in Foster City, California, has operations in more than 35 countries worldwide, focusing on virology, inflammation, and oncology. The company’s project in North Carolina will create a new Business Services center delivering financial, human resources, and information technology services, including cybersecurity and digital transformation initiatives.

“We look forward to introducing Gilead to the local community,” said Andrew Dickinson, Gilead’s chief financial officer. “We are eager to welcome many of the highly talented, highly skilled people who live in the Research Triangle region to work with us as we seek to advance new medicines for people with unmet medical needs.”

This, however, is not the company's first foray into North Carolina. Gilead had a 150-employee R&D facility in Durham at one time, but it closed that facility in 2010 and consolidated its research at its Foster City headquarters.

The company's COVID-19 treatment remdesivir, developed by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 2020.

"Gilead is a key player in the pharmaceutical industry and will be an important addition to North Carolina’s life sciences ecosystem” said Katie Stember, Ph.D., associate director of life science economic development for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, who was among the partners involved in the Gilead recruitment. “The selection of Wake County for this expansion highlights the region's existing strengths in both life sciences and IT, while also enhancing the diversity of pharmaceutical jobs in our community."

The state and local area will see a yearly economic impact of more than $39 million from Gilead’s investment. The company said Atlanta was the primary competitor for the project, with a $10 million incentive offer.

“Wake County is excited to welcome Gilead to our community,” said Matt Calabria, chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. “This new shared service operation for Gilead speaks to our community’s ability to develop talent across industries and maintain a steady business climate.”

Gilead’s project in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of 12 years, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $1.11 billion. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $9,997,500, spread over 12 years. Payments for all JDIGs only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation targets. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.

Because Gilead chose a site in Wake County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 3, the company’s JDIG agreement also calls for moving as much as $3,332,500 into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when new jobs are created in a Tier 3 county such as Wake, the new tax revenue generated through JDIG grants helps more economically challenged communities elsewhere in the state. More information on the state’s economic tier designations is available here.

In addition to the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of N.C., other key partners on this project were the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Capital Area Workforce Development, Wake County, and Wake County Economic Development, a program of the Raleigh Chamber.