April 12, 2024 FUJIFILM Diosynth Invests $1.2B in North Carolina

Initial investments included $2 billion in 2021, making it the largest end-to-end biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in North America.

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies North Carolina, Inc., a world-leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), will invest $1.2 billion to expand its biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, creating 680 new jobs in Wake County. Initial investments of the FUJIFILM’s Holly Springs operation included $2 billion in 2021, making it the largest end-to-end biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in North America.

“North Carolina is known worldwide as a biotechnology hub thanks to the continued investment from companies like FUJIFILM Diosynth,” said Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. “Our robust infrastructure, top-notch engineering talent in the state, and partnerships with entities like NC State University and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center provide support for innovative companies like FUJIFILM to continue to grow.”

In October 2023, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, North Carolina Department of Commerce Secretary Sanders, and Christopher Chung met in Japan with leaders from Japanese businesses in North Carolina, including FUJIFILM President and CEO Teiichi Goto, to discuss the continued partnership and the company’s facilities in the state. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ expansion includes an additional large-scale monoclonal antibody Drug Substance manufacturing capacity that will support the company’s growing biologics CDMO business. The project will also include two additional drug substance manufacturing buildings, a shared headblock building with administrative space, as well as expansions of utilities, lab, and warehouse buildings currently under construction. The average salary for new positions at FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies will be $109,923, which is notably 46% higher than Wake County’s average wage of $74,866.

Over the last 10 years (2014-2023), Japan has announced 9,220 jobs and $17.58 billion in investment in North Carolina. Currently, more than 30,500 North Carolinians work for Japanese companies such as HondaJet, Morinaga, and Sumitomo Forestry. In 2021, Toyota announced it would build its first North American battery manufacturing plant in Liberty, North Carolina, investing $1.29 billion and creating 1,750 jobs. Since then, Toyota has announced three additional expansions bringing the project’s total capital investment to $13.9 billion and 5,000 new jobs. More recently, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., a lithium-ion battery pouch manufacturer, announced it will invest $233 million to build its first U.S. advanced manufacturing facility in Linwood, North Carolina, creating 352 new jobs in Davidson County.

The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina would like to recognize the North Carolina Department of Commerce as well as other key partners involved in this project, including the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Community College System, Wake Technical Community College, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, North Carolina State University, the North Carolina Japan Center, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Capital Area Workforce Development, Wake County, the Town of Holly Springs, and Wake County Economic Development, a program of the Raleigh Chamber.

About FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, is a world-leading contract development and manufacturing organization partner to development and manufacture of biologics, vaccines, and advanced therapies. The company operates a global network with major locations in the Unites States of America, the United Kingdom and Denmark and it is building a new manufacturing site in Holly Springs, North Carolina, USA. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies has over thirty years of experience in the development and manufacturing of recombinant proteins, vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, among other large molecules, viral products and medical countermeasures expressed in a wide array of microbial, mammalian, and host/virus systems. The company offers a comprehensive list of services from cell line development using its proprietary pAVEway™ microbial and Apollo™X cell line systems to process development, analytical development, clinical and FDA-approved commercial manufacturing. For more information, go to: www.fujifilmdiosynth.com

About the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) is a private nonprofit corporation that serves as North Carolina’s statewide economic development organization. Governed by an 18-member board of business and industry leaders from across the state, the EDPNC focuses on business and job recruitment, existing industry support, international trade, and tourism and film marketing. The EDPNC, which operates under contract with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, works closely with public- and private-sector partners at the state, regional and local levels. For more information, visit edpnc.com.

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