April 1, 2016
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
DURHAM, N.C. – A controversial law in North Carolina that ended local anti-discrimination ordinances based on gender identity is causing one company, Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to rethink a proposed manufacturing and research facility in Durham.
In March, New Jersey-based Braeburn announced it will invest almost $20 million in a new manufacturing and research plant in Durham County, creating 52 new positions with an average salary of $76,000. But this morning, Raleigh-based WNCN reported Braeburn is rethinking the planned site and is “reevaluating our options based on the recent unjust legislation.”
“Braeburn Pharmaceuticals believes in fair treatment and equality for all individuals in their communities. We oppose any legislation that discriminates against the LGBT community,” Braeburn said in its statement, according to WNCN.
Braeburn, which does not yet have any approved medicines on the market, calls itself a Phase III specialty pharmaceutical company. The company is developing implantable and injectable treatments for neurological and psychiatric disorders, including addiction, pain, and schizophrenia.
Braeburn is not the first company to balk at doing business with North Carolina since the controversial HB2 “bathroom” bill was passed. The state already lost business with Lionsgate, a production company planning to shoot a film there. Other pharmaceutical companies with a footprint already in North Carolina have expressed their displeasure with the new law. On its Twitter page, Biogen , one of the largest pharma companies in the Research Triangle Park area, condemned the legislation and said the company supports “the power of difference.” Boston-based Biogen, which employs more than 1,000 in North Carolina, provided a link to a company perspectives blog posting on its website expressing its support of diversity.
“Without diversity, our ability to solve complex problems - the very foundation on which our company is built—would be difficult to navigate. This is why we have been focused on growing a sustainable workplace culture of excellence and inclusion. We believe that this is best accomplished by eliminating barriers and enhancing access to opportunities and resources. It means embracing and harnessing the potential of people of all backgrounds. Inclusion allows us to maximize the value from our workforce and the communities we serve,” Biogen said in its perspectives posting.
Bayer , which has its crop sciences headquarters in the RTP area, also took to Twitter to voice its displeasure, the News & Observer of Raleigh reported. The company decried the legislation, saying it has “zero tolerance” for discrimination. “We continue to support all of our employees & remain on the side of equality,” the company tweeted, according to the N&O.
North Carolina’s House Bill 2, which was passed in a special session, bars transgender people from using public restrooms of the sex they identify with and forces them to use restrooms of the sex listed on their birth certificate. The legislation was a response to a local anti-discrimination law passed in Charlotte that provides transgender people the legal right to use a public restroom of the sex they identify with. The new legislation nullified that local ordinance. The new statewide protections extend to race, religion, color, national origin and biological sex—but not sexual orientation or gender identity, NPR reported.
