Governor Stein Announces AbbVie to Build a New $1.4 Billion Manufacturing Campus in Durham

Today Governor Josh Stein announced AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV), a global biopharmaceutical company, will create 734 jobs in a new pharmaceutical operation in Durham County. The company says it will invest $1.4 billion to build a 185-acre state-of-the-art manufacturing campus in the City of Durham.

“We welcome AbbVie’s major investment to North Carolina,” said Governor Josh Stein. “When you combine our world-renowned research and innovation with a strong, thriving life sciences hub, North Carolina quickly becomes the premier location for biopharmaceutical companies to do business.”

Headquartered in Illinois, AbbVie is one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies. It has a leading product portfolio that includes several key therapeutic areas – including immunology, neuroscience and oncology – and offers products and services in the company’s Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. This is AbbVie’s first major investment in North Carolina and is part of its $100 billion commitment to U.S. research and development (R&D) and capital investments, including manufacturing, over the next decade.

The 185-acre campus will integrate advanced manufacturing and laboratory technologies with artificial intelligence to support the production of AbbVie’s immunology, neuroscience, and oncology medicines.

“AbbVie’s investment in North Carolina represents a significant milestone for our company as our largest capital investment to date and an important expansion of our manufacturing footprint into a new region of the United States,” said Robert A. Michael, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AbbVie. “By establishing this campus, we are strengthening our ability to support future medical breakthroughs while also creating new jobs and a long-term partnership with Durham and the State of North Carolina.”

“This decision further cements North Carolina’s position at the forefront of the global life sciences industry,” said N.C. Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “As our pharmaceutical sector grows, we remain fully committed to cultivating the highly skilled workforce, infrastructure, and ecosystem needed to deliver lifesaving medicines to patients around the world for companies like AbbVie.”

Positions with the company will include engineers, lab technicians, manufacturing operators, and scientists. Although salaries for the positions will vary, the average annual salary will be $118,041, exceeding the Durham County average of $102,817. These new jobs could create a potential annual payroll impact of more than $86.6 million for the region.

AbbVie’s operation in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG), which was approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $8 billion. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs and capital investment of $1.295 billion, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $19,347,000, spread over 12 years. State payments occur only following performance verification each year by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.

The project’s projected return on investment of public dollars is 189 percent, meaning for every dollar of potential cost to the state, the state receives $2.89 in state revenue. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.

Because AbbVie chose a site in Durham County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 3, the company’s JDIG agreement also calls for moving as much as $6,449,000 into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities anywhere in the state finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business.

“We welcome this investment and new jobs to Durham County,” said Senator Natalie Murdock. “A $1 billion investment underscores the strength of our universities and community college systems and pioneering research engines that make this region an attractive place to innovate, scale, and lead in a rapidly demanding industry.”

“The life sciences economy thrives when partnerships are strong,” said Representative Zack Hawkins. “In Durham and across the Triangle, collaboration between industry, academia, and local and state government translates into jobs, investment, and long‑term economic resilience.”

In addition to the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, other key partners in this project include the North Carolina General Assembly, Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the North Carolina Community College System, Durham Technical Community College, North Carolina Central University, Duke University, Duke Energy, Enbridge Gas North Carolina, Durham County, the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Durham.

Additional information on the project can be found on AbbVie.com/Manufacturing.