The Durham plant will manufacture immunology, neuroscience and oncology drugs once AbbVie finishes construction in 2028.
AbbVie has selected North Carolina as the location for its largest-ever capital investment in one campus, committing $1.4 billion to build a drug production facility in the state.
Illinois-based AbbVie, which disclosed the plan Wednesday, made the investment as part of a previously announced commitment to pump $100 billion into U.S. R&D and manufacturing operations over the next decade. The North Carolina project brings AbbVie’s tally of investments in U.S. manufacturing sites over the past year up to $2.2 billion.
AbbVie intends to start construction of the manufacturing plant in Durham, North Carolina, this year with plans to complete the build by the end of 2028. The company will use the facility to produce immunology, neuroscience and oncology drugs and expects to create 734 jobs over the next four years.
During the first phase of construction, AbbVie will erect buildings including small-volume parenteral drug product manufacturing facilities, laboratories and a warehouse. Small-volume drugs cover products that are 100 mL or less, including vials, prefilled cartridges and prefilled syringes.
The facility is AbbVie’s first major investment in North Carolina. AbbVie has U.S. manufacturing facilities in Puerto Rico and seven other states, including two each in California and Illinois. As part of its commitment to the U.S., the company is investing $575 million to build two active pharmaceutical ingredient facilities at an existing site in Illinois and pumping $175 million into a drug delivery device plant in Arizona.
AbbVie expects to create 1,300 jobs across North Carolina, Illinois, Arizona and Massachusetts through its recent investments in manufacturing. Currently, AbbVie employs more than 6,000 people at its U.S. manufacturing facilities.
The company joins many of its peers in North Carolina. Roche’s Genentech and Amgen have put the state at the center of pushes to establish obesity drug production capacity. Johnson & Johnson is constructing a second production facility in Wilson, North Carolina. Merck opened a $1 billion vaccine manufacturing plant in Durham last year.
The region’s workforce and its ability to support future expansion informed AbbVie’s decision to invest in North Carolina. AbbVie could receive up to $19.3 million over 12 years under the Job Development Investment Grant approved by North Carolina’s Economic Investment Committee Wednesday. The state will make the payments if AbbVie hits annual job creation and investment targets.
