North Carolina has been investing in the life sciences for over four decades. The life sciences sector spans across the Tar Heel state and is diverse, with strengths in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, clinical research, research and development and agricultural technologies.
In 2024, Site Selection Group named North Carolina as the number one state in its Best States for Manufacturing ranking. It’s no surprise that pharmaceuticals and medicines are North Carolina’s top export. In the first two quarters of 2025, North Carolina was responsible for $6 billion in biopharmaceutical exports alone. Overall, North Carolina has been named by CNBC as America’s Top State for Business in three out of the last four years, and a wide variety of advanced manufacturing companies have chosen the state as home in recent years, including JetZero, Jabil and PTT.
The state currently has 840 life sciences companies, including 124 international companies representing 26 countries. The biopharma manufacturing sector has 108 manufacturing sites and employs approximately 34,000 workers in the state, part of a total of 75,000 life sciences employees. Additionally, another 2,500 support and related companies, from construction companies to staffing firms to intellectual property attorneys, support the life sciences.
A breadth of biotech products is manufactured in North Carolina, spanning established and new technologies. This includes treatments for diabetes, plasma-derived medicines, gene and cell-based therapies, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and industrial enzymes.
Leading biopharmaceutical companies that call the state home include Amgen, Biogen, CSL Seqirus, Genentech, Grifols, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Merck, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer, all of which have a significant biopharma manufacturing footprint in North Carolina. In addition, contract development and manufacturing organizations such as Catalent, FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, KBI Biopharma and Thermo Fisher Scientific also manufacture a range of products in the state for their clients around the world.
A Deep, Growing Talent Pool for Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing
North Carolina has built a robust biopharma manufacturing talent base with the help of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. The state has a full continuum of complementary training programs to ensure a supply of highly skilled workers.
NCBioImpact is a public-private partnership that coordinates training programs to ensure that companies’ growing demand for job-ready talent is met, now and in the future. The partners include five university training partners, The North Carolina Department of Commerce, The North Carolina Biotechnology Center, NCLifeSci, along with national partners, National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, National Center for Biotechnology Workforce and 13 community colleges. NCLifeSci hosts the Biotech Manufacturers Forum, where companies share information and create solutions for collective challenges such as infrastructure.
North Carolina has the third largest community college system in the U.S., with 58 colleges scattered across the state. The BioWork certificate program, offered at 14 community colleges statewide, helps students learn the foundational skills they need to launch a career in biopharma manufacturing. These colleges also help students make informed decisions about their career paths, exploring job search strategies, resume writing and interviewing skills.
Fueling Life Sciences Ecosystem Growth
NCBiotech is a state-funded nonprofit that catalyzes growth of the life sciences statewide, delivering economic impact for North Carolina. Working with partners, government and other nonprofits, NCBiotech leads workforce development programs to raise awareness of training, job opportunities and career pathways, particularly in biopharma manufacturing. Programs range from helping transitioning military service members find meaningful careers in biopharma manufacturing to training ambassadors to educate their communities on training, hiring companies and job openings.
Since 1984, NCBiotech’s research grants and loans program have filled critical funding gaps. NCBiotech grants help academic researchers build university infrastructure to support early-stage development of new technologies. NCBiotech loans help startups conduct critical research and reach critical commercial milestones. This early financial support lends credibility to recipients and routinely opens the door for follow-on funding from other sources. These programs help small research and development companies become tomorrow’s mid-size companies.
North Carolina’s Continued Opportunities for Growth in the Bioeconomy
Beyond developing and manufacturing biological medicines, North Carolina is emerging as a leader in the bioeconomy. The bioeconomy focuses on finding new, innovative solutions for agriculture, health and industrial challenges. North Carolina-based scientists and businesses are working to help the U.S. achieve the full potential of the bioeconomy, an estimated $4 trillion market.
Food insecurity is a global challenge, for which North Carolina companies are poised to address with new biosolutions. Companies like Syngenta develop and produce crop protection products to help farmers achieve higher crop yields. Elo Life Systems is creating healthier, tastier food ingredients with its proprietary gene editing technology. Likewise, industrial biotech is using biological systems, such as bacteria, yeast or algae, to create new and improved chemicals and biofuels.
Novonesis, formerly known as Novozymes, is a leading global bioindustrial company with a major presence in North Carolina. The company’s North American headquarters is in Franklinton, where it manufactures enzymes used in agriculture, baking, biofuels, brewing, detergents and other applications.
An Ideal Business Climate for Business Expansion
North Carolina continues to attract more companies, while companies that are already part of the ecosystem continue to expand. Talent, lower business operating costs, low corporate income tax and a favorable legal and regulatory environment are among the top reasons why companies choose to expand in North Carolina.
In 2024, life sciences companies announced $10.8 billion in investment in North Carolina. Major investments include:
- Novo Nordisk - In June 2024, the company announced plans to invest $4.1 billion to expand its fill and finish operations in Johnston County, creating 1,000 new jobs and adding 1.4 million square feet of new manufacturing space. This is the largest single capital investment in North Carolina’s life sciences history.
- Johnson & Johnson - In October 2024, the company announced plans to invest more than $2 billion to build a new biologics production facility in Wilson. Monoclonal antibodies will be produced at this site in Wilson that will encompass more than 300,000 square feet. The company plans to hire 420 employees over a five-year period.
- FUJIFILM Biotechnologies - In April 2024, the company announced plans to invest $1.2 billion to double the size of its Holly Springs manufacturing facility, adding 680 jobs. This announcement followed the company’s initial March 2021 announcement to invest $2 billion for the same site. Once completed, the site will be the largest end-to-end cell culture CDMO facility in North America.
- Amgen - In December 2024, the company announced a major expansion of its biomanufacturing site in Holly Springs, adding $1 billion to its initial investment and 370 more employees. The announcement comes three years after Amgen’s August 2021 announcement to establish a $550 million drug substance manufacturing facility at the same site.
In North Carolina, companies, government, nonprofits and top-tier research universities band together to create new opportunities and overcome challenges. From talent, training infrastructure, business climate and a collaborative ecosystem, North Carolina is a smart choice for growing a business. Let the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina and NCBiotech be partners for growth. T&ID
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