North Carolina Ecosystem Continues to See Growth with New Manufacturing Facilities
A guest post by my friend and colleague Alex Keown.
By Alex Keown
With two new processing and manufacturing facilities opening in North Carolina, the Tar Heel State continues a year-long trend of biopharma and medtech companies selecting the state for expansions or the construction of new facilities.
Virginia-based Indivior, which develops substance abuse therapies, announced a plan to invest $60 million for a new sterile manufacturing plant in Raleigh, N.C. The company announced plans to acquire an 80,000-square-foot facility previously owned by Sagent Pharmaceuticals. That company, which acquired the space in 2019 from Xellia Pharmaceuticals, used the facility for the manufacture of injectable medicines. Indivior will maintain the current Sagent staff and plans to add an additional 35 new positions, the company announced.
Indivior’s product portfolio includes Opvee (nalmefene) nasal spray, an opioid antagonist; Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone), a treatment for opioid addiction; and Perseris (risperidone), an extended-release antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia. The company’s product portfolio is available in 39 countries across the globe.
Key roles at the plant include production, quality control, maintenance and engineering.
“This facility and its skilled workforce will help us secure diversified long-term supply for our products, and we are pleased to now be a member of the thriving Raleigh and Wake County business communities,” Mark Crossley, chief executive officer of Indivior said in a statement.
In addition to Indivior’s move into North Carolina, FirstWave Innovations, a subsidiary of food technology company SinnovaTek, opened a new $20 million, 62,500-square-foot plant in Nash County, located about 30 miles east of Raleigh. The contract processing and packaging facility will allow FirstWave Innovations to double its staff by the end of the year to about 50 employees. By the end of 2025, the company anticipates to employ about 75 people, according to NC Biotech.
In 2020, FirstWave opened an 8,300-square-foot facility used as a site for pilot manufacturing and to help companies and entrepreneurs launch and test new products, NC Biotech noted.
Over the past year, North Carolina has seen nearly 40 biotech and pharmaceutical companies announce expansions or moves to the state. Those account for 3,500 new jobs in the Tar Heel State. Among those companies that expanded or relocated are industry giants Pfizer and Eli Lilly. In 2022, Pfizer announced a $500 million expansion at its Sanford, N.C. gene therapy facility. Eli Lilly announced a $450 million expansion of its pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Research Triangle Park.
Other expansions in North Carolina include ProKidney’s decision to build a $485 million manufacturing facility in Greensboro. In June, the Winston Salem-based company acquired the 210,000 square foot facility in Greensboro that will serve as the company’s future manufacturing site for its chronic kidney disease (CKD) therapeutic that is currently in late-stage development. ProKidney’s REACT (REnal Autologous Cell Therapy) platform is in Phase III development for the treatment of diabetic CKD.
In June, United Therapeutics, which has co-headquarters in North Carolina and Maryland, announced a $500 million investment in a new manufacturing facility in North Carolina. Currently under construction, the new site will expand manufacturing for United Therapeutics’ Tyvaso, a dry powder inhaler for treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD). The FDA approved Tyvaso DPI in May 2022. The new 55,000 square-foot center will be located on the company’s existing campus in Research Triangle Park.
Cintas Corporation opened its newest cleanroom facility in Graham, N.C., located on the outskirts of Research Triangle Park. The new Research Triangle Cleanroom facility will support high-growth industries in the region, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical device manufacturing, compounding pharmacies, electronics manufacturing, aerospace and defense, nanotechnology, semiconductor, automotive and optics, among other industries.
North Carolina is currently ranked in the eighth spot of GEN 10’s annual list of top 10 life sciences clusters in the United States. GEN 10 bases its rankings on five criteria: NIH funding, Venture Capital funding, Patents, Lab Space, and Jobs.
To contact Alex: keown.alex@gmail.com