Pfizer Inc. will spend $500 million to revamp a gene therapy manufacturing facility in Sanford, N.C., adding about 300 new jobs there.
The updated plant is expected to expand the pharmaceutical giant's gene therapy operations as well as the manufacturing of vaccines like Prevnar 13.
Gene therapies require specific virus vectors to be custom-made, which requires state-of-the-art equipment.
"This investment will further strengthen Pfizer's leadership in gene therapy manufacturing technology," Pfizer Global Supply President Mike McDermott said in an Aug. 21 release. "The expansion of the Sanford site is expected to create hundreds of highly skilled jobs, which would increase Sanford's high-tech manufacturing environment and is part of our overall plan to invest approximately $5 billion in U.S.-based capital projects over the next several years."
The facility will add to New York-based Pfizer's footprint in North Carolina, where the company employs more than 3,600 people, 650 of whom are in Sanford.
"North Carolina is a leader in life sciences in part because of our long-standing partnership with Pfizer," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said. "Today we mark another boost to our state, and we are proud of the people conducting life-saving research in Sanford."
