By Zac Ezzone for the Triangle Business Journal

One of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies is planning a major expansion in Wake County.

Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) is investing more than $1 billion to expand its massive Holly Springs facility that remains under construction. With this additional investment, Amgen plans to add more than 300 jobs to a facility already under development over the next five years.

This investment will increase the company’s footprint in Wake County, as Amgen continues work on a $550 million drug substance manufacturing facility. Amgen broke ground on this initial investment in 2022, with the site projected to create 355 jobs. The company’s new investment will double these job numbers, supporting 370 positions over the next five years.

Amgen is raising its local investment to about $1.18 billion as it tries to increase manufacturing capacity to support its long-term growth. The company estimates it will spend $1.3 billion on capital projects this year, including construction costs related to its Holly Springs facility and a new plant in Ohio that opened earlier this year. This is up from Amgen’s original estimate of $1.1 billion.

Amgen owns nearly 109 acres just south of Highway 1 on the northwest side of Holly Springs. During a Wells Fargo health care conference in September, Amgen Chief Financial Officer Peter Griffith said the company has plenty of land for additional expansion at the site as needed.

Amgen’s existing facility at the site covers about 225,000 square feet, according to Wake County property records. The facility is expected to be licensed and operating by 2026, Griffith said during the call.

Amgen purchased land for its plants in Ohio and North Carolina as it was entering what Griffith described as “a world of volume-driven growth.” Both places offer the company places with incredible talent, Griffith said.

“I would commend, by way of example, North Carolina for its community college system and training people to be able to come and work in our plant there,” Griffith said.

Part of the company’s efforts to invest in manufacturing center on an obesity drug in development called MariTide. The company in November announced that the drug demonstrated up to 20 percent average weight loss at 52 weeks for patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Amgen plans to initiate a Phase 3 program to evaluate the drug in obesity and obesity-related conditions.

The preceding article originally appeared on December 5, 2024 at the Triangle Business Journal’s website and is made available here for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law.