Amgen, one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, broke ground today on a new $550 million manufacturing facility, which is expected to open in 2025 in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The Southeast Wake County community is on the world’s radar for its momentum in the highly competitive life sciences arena, which was evident by the federal, state and local officials in Holly Springs for the groundbreaking.
“The world’s leading companies keep choosing Holly Springs to grow their businesses,” said Holly Springs Mayor Sean Mayefskie. “This kind of seismic shift in the economic development of a town comes from a commitment at every level of government. We have the most amazing partners who believed in our mission from the very beginning, who put millions towards expanding utilities in the Friendship Innovation Park, so Holly Springs could reach the strong position it’s in today, with hundreds of acres available for Life Sciences expansion for Amgen and beyond.”
Amgen’s biologics plant site sits on approximately 100 acres on the northwest side of Holly Springs, just south of U.S. 1, and will create more than 350 jobs with an average salary of $100,000. The success of Holly Springs as a biotech hub did not happen overnight. The Town started positioning itself years ago to be one of the best places in the world for biotech manufacturing by working closely with Wake County Economic Development and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
“Amgen is one of the flagship companies around which the entire global biotechnology industry has been built, and their new presence in North Carolina is a milestone in our life science history,” said Bill Bullock, Senior VP of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. “The fact that they’ve chosen Holly Springs is no surprise, given the ecosystem the community has built, and it solidifies the town’s position as a leader in biomanufacturing.”
Amgen recognizes the value that the Town of Holly Springs holds for life sciences companies, and their commitment to their newly adopted community is impressive. They are bringing a permanent Amgen Biotech Experience to Holly Springs High School later this year, giving students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn about biotech using real research-grade science equipment in the classroom.
Amgen is one of the latest announcements in a series of successful corporate recruitment efforts in Wake County, North Carolina that makes the Research Triangle Area the trifecta for top-notch companies – quality of life, site-ready land and talent.
“Amgen recognizes that Wake County can provide the highly skilled work force that life sciences companies need to remain competitive,” said Sig Hutchinson, Chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners. “We’re helping Amgen attract and retain top talent by making significant investments in education, transit, parks, greenways and the arts to create a quality of life for our residents that is second to none.”
Talent is in abundance in Wake County, and record-setting investments by companies like Amgen have brought nearly 6,000 new jobs to the area this past year alone, despite the pandemic.
“The last year and a half have been a windfall for future jobs and investments in Wake County,” said Michael Haley, executive director of Wake County Economic Development. “From Amgen to Apple and everything in between, incoming companies know to expect greatness from Wake County. Top talent, high quality of place and diversity of industry all add up to make this region a sure bet.”
About Life Sciences in Wake County
Growth in this industry continues to outpace nearly every other sector of our economy. This boom is credited largely to the region’s unbeatable access to converging technologies, support from multiple tier-1 research universities and Wake Technical Community College, and resources like the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and NC State’s one-of-a-kind Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center.
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