Biotech company building new plant in NC, adding hundreds of jobs. What to know.
A North Carolina-based clinical stage biotech company developing treatment for chronic kidney disease plans to add 330 jobs and build a 210,000-square-foot production plant in Greensboro, in part thanks to a $5.1 million jobs development investment grant that the state agreed to provide on Tuesday.
ProKidney, which is headquartered in Winston-Salem, said it would expand to Greensboro over a three-year period, from 2026 to 2028.
ProKidney said it would pay the new employees a minimum average wage of $74,636, according to the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee, which approved the grant. Guilford County’s average salary was $50,418 in 2021, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
As part of the agreement with the state, the company must retain its current 85 positions in North Carolina.
ProKidney expects to invest $485 million in Greensboro by Dec. 31, 2027.
The manufacturing facility will produce REACT, which stands for renal autologous cell therapy. The treatment has the potential to slow and stabilize chronic kidney disease in patients and in some cases improve kidney function, which would make the drug the first of its kind. The company is conducting phase two clinical trials and expects to receive regulatory approval by 2027.
“Innovative life science companies like ProKidney understand that North Carolina offers the key ingredients for business success,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement Tuesday. “Our leadership in this important industry sector is recognized around the world, thanks to the specialized workforce training and education systems that support North Carolina’s biotech companies.”
ProKidney chose Greensboro over locations in Texas and Virginia in part because of the skilled workforce, “thriving metro area” and tax climate, the company said.
The job development investment grant also includes moving $570,300 into the state’s Industrial Development Fund Utility Account, which helps rural areas finance infrastructure updates with the goal of attracting future businesses.
According to the Walden model, which the state uses to evaluate its major economic projects, the manufacturing site in Greensboro could increase North Carolina’s economy by $1.7 billion over the course of the 12-year term of the grant.