By Jim Shamp for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center

A British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company, Reckitt Benckiser, is investing $145.59 million to establish a regional liquid and oral solid dose pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Wilson to produce the over-the-counter medication Mucinex.

The investment announced yesterday by Governor Roy Cooper is expected to bring new life and as many as 289 jobs to a factory at 4700 Sandoz Drive that has been undergoing a shutdown by its most recent owner, Sandoz.

“North Carolina continues to attract the world’s most well-known life science companies that are working to keep people healthy,” said Gov. Cooper. “Communities like Wilson and all across our state provide skilled biotech workers through our training systems that are important to companies like Reckitt.”

Reckitt was established by Isaac Reckitt in 1840 in Hull, England to produce laundry starch. After decades of mergers and corporate and brand acquisitions, Reckitt now operates in more than 68 countries across six continents, with sales in nearly every country of the world—more than 200 of them. In addition to Mucinex, Reckitt produces such well-known brands as Airborne, Air Wick, Calgon, Clearasil, Durex, Lysol, Enfamil and Vanish.

Its U.S. headquarters is in Parsippany, N.J. The U.S. represents its largest global market, accounting for about a third of its total revenue and more than 3,800 employees at manufacturing sites, distribution centers and R&D labs nationwide.

Every day, around 30 million Reckitt products are purchased globally. The company’s new Wilson project will allow the company to expand its production capacity and localize Mucinex production. In addition to management and administrative functions, the Wilson facility is expected to include quality assurance and quality control, engineering, and general manufacturing roles.

Reckitt’s commitment is the latest in a string of major life sciences investments in Wilson, a 45-minute drive east of Raleigh and the globally recognized Research Triangle Park.

A great fit for Reckitt

With East Carolina University as the region’s academic anchor in Greenville, replete with its medical school and college of engineering, Eastern North Carolina hosts an increasing array of major life sciences players. In addition, Wilson Community College will house a biologics training center that will provide customized training and education for the life sciences across the region.

“With its prominence as a life science innovation hub, North Carolina is an ideal place for Reckitt to establish its U.S. regional manufacturing center,” said Kris Licht, CEO of Reckitt. “This strategic, onshoring investment will build resiliency and agility in our supply chain and further drives our mission to create a healthier world by increasing access to important medicines.”

The area, which has become known as the BioPharma Crescent, encompasses Pitt, Johnston and Wilson counties. It is home to established life sciences companies such as CMP Pharma, Fresenius Kabi, Grifols, Catalent, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Purdue Pharma and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Recent announcements include Novo Nordisk’s $4.1B expansion at its current facilities in Clayton, SCHOTT Pharma USA’s $371M investment in Wilson, and Nipro’s $397.8M investment in Pitt County.

“Reckitt is a great fit for the region,” said Martie Jones, associate director of life sciences economic development for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, who helped support the Reckitt recruitment.

“Wilson is an excellent magnet for companies like Reckitt that need a job-ready workforce, established infrastructure and a welcoming community that understands their needs and speaks their unique language of pharmaceutical manufacturing,” she said.

Although wages will vary depending on the position, the average salary for the new positions will be $80,182, which is higher than the current average wage in Wilson County of $52,619. The new positions will bring an annual payroll impact to the community of more than $23 million per year, according to the governor’s office.

A ‘great outcome’ all around

Mark Phillips, vice president of statewide operations and executive director of NCBiotech’s Eastern Office, said the Reckitt move into Wilson will benefit not only the community and the company, but also people around the world.

“This is a great outcome,” said Phillips. “Eastern North Carolina in general, and Wilson in particular, have done the diligence and continue to reap the rewards from decades of partnership and focus on building a global life sciences power center. We’re honored to welcome Reckitt into this very special community.”

“As a native of eastern North Carolina and a former life science executive, it’s been so exciting to see the growth of this industry in Wilson and North Carolina’s BioPharma Crescent region,” said Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “Mucinex is a trusted household brand, and I’m proud to welcome Reckitt to North Carolina as the company expands its capabilities in the United States.”

State incentives, tied to employment and other milestones, total $6.4 million. Included are further state incentives such as $641,600 in knowledge training from the North Carolina Community College system and $831,000 in workforce solutions (NC Job Ready funds, Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Federal Bonding through the NC Dept. of Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions). 

Local and county incentives, which cover everything from infrastructure to utilities, could total $16.2 million. The project’s projected return on investment of public dollars is 317 percent, meaning for every dollar of potential cost to the state, the state receives $4.17 in state revenue.

The Dept. of Commerce led the state’s support for the company during its site evaluation and decision-making process. Partnering with Dept. of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina on this project were the North Carolina General Assembly, the NC Community College System, Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions, Wilson County, the City of Wilson, and the Wilson Economic Development Council. NCBiotech provided technical assistance.

A factory’s 30-year evolution: it’s complicated

Reckitt’s acquisition of the Wilson plant provides a new lease on life for a building that began as part of the generic drug industry’s complex global evolution.

The Wilson facility was originally built in 1994 by pharmaceutical manufacturer Novopharm, which later became Teva Pharmaceuticals. The site, an anchor of the Wilson Corporate Park, faces neighboring Purdue Pharma.

The factory was purchased from Teva in 2001 by Hexal, whose subsidiary Eon Labs operated it for the next four years. Novartis acquired Hexal and Eon in 2005 and integrated the Wilson site into its Sandoz generic drug unit. Then in 2021, as generic drug market pressures wrought global turmoil in the industry, Sandoz told its 240-plus employees that it would be closing the 309,000-square-foot Wilson facility. Novartis ultimately spun off Sandoz in October 2023, and the Wilson factory’s wind-down continued. Until now.