Holly Springs has some huge news. FUJIFILM Corporation has announced the selection of Holly Springs as the location for its new large-scale cell culture production site in the United States. The investment of more than $2 billion to establish the largest end-to-end cell culture biopharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) facility in North America will create 725 highly skilled jobs in the area by the end of 2025.
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, with development and manufacturing facilities across the United States, United Kingdom, and Denmark, will operate the new facility. This will be the largest end-to-end cell culture biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in North America. The facility will be built in Oakview Innovation Park, which is on the south side of Holly Springs New Hill Road, and west of Green Oaks Parkway (across from 12 Oaks subdivision).
If you’re like many of our readers, you’re looking at this and thinking, “Oh great—more growth.” There are those that are excited about bringing new business to town, and those that want the town to remain the size it was when you first moved here (assuming you’re not a Holly Springs native). If you are on the non-growth wagon, I hope that the following explanation will help you understand why growth is good for Holly Springs. It’s good for the homeowners, good for small business, and good for residents. First, let’s talk about the project itself.
The new facility will offer large-scale cell culture manufacturing of bulk drug substance production with 8 x 20,000L bioreactors with the potential to expand and add a further 24 x 20,000L bioreactors based on market demand. In addition, the facility will also provide commercial scale, automated fill-finish and assembly, packaging, and labelling services. The facility is expected to be operational by spring 2025.
The facility will be designed and built with sustainability as its core. The facility design targets 100% clean energy utilization, implementation of cutting-edge waste disposal, and recycling, among other sustainability goals.
The FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies subsidiary of FUJIFILM offers cell culture solutions, microbial fermentation, and viral vector and vaccine services, which are the top three items they promote on their website. I’m not a scientist, but I would like to know what they’re going to be doing “in my backyard,” so I dug a little deeper.
FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is a CDMO partner in the biopharmaceutical industry. So, what does that mean? They can handle everything from pre-clinical investigations and process development to commercial production.
Cell culture solutions are for bio-pharmaceutical production. The company offers complete solutions in cell line development. The cell line is the first step in the biomedical manufacturing process. The facility does the production for other companies that require this type of work.
Microbial fermentation is what you might think it is, based on the name. They work on microbial fermentation and advanced protein expression based on bacteria, fungi and yeasts.
Viral vector and vaccine services work with viral vectors, vaccines and oncolytic viruses. They provide development, analytical, and manufacturing solutions for viral product needs, including viral vectors for gene therapy and gene-modified cell therapy, recombinant vaccines and oncolytic viruses. According to the FUJIFILM Diosynth website, “Viral vector technology has paved the way for development of gene therapy as a potential long-lasting therapeutic option for several genetic diseases. Gene therapy is particularly relevant in the treatment of rare diseases, because approximately 80% of these orphan diseases are caused by a single gene (monogenic). Hundreds of successful clinical studies on viral vector-based gene therapies have been conducted – and an ever-increasing number of products are now entering late-phase clinical trials with the potential of becoming new licensed therapies.”
Now that you know what they’ll be doing, the next question is why are they going to be doing it in Holly Springs? I’m sure you know that it’s a little more complex than putting a map of the world on the wall and throwing a dart to find a new location.
This is not something that happened overnight. It could be argued that the process started twenty years ago. “We received initial interest from the company in October 2020 when we were one of many possible locations in North Carolina, the US and around the world being evaluated,” said Town of Holly Springs Economic Development Director Irena Krstanovic. “But the work to actually come out on top and land a deal of this magnitude began two decades ago, when the Town identified life science and biomanufacturing industries as a growth market and took the necessary steps to make our Town the perfect fit for this sector.”
What’s so special about Holly Springs? Holly Springs researched the needs of life science companies and used that knowledge to create the highest-ranked industrial site in Wake County through strategic investments in water, sewer and road infrastructure. Also, Holly Springs developed one of the most robust reclaimed water systems in the state, which not only saves residents and businesses money, but also enables them to incorporate environmentally friendly practices into daily operations. This was a huge factor for FUJIFILM in their effort to build a completely green facility.
Although the groundwork was laid years ago to be ready for projects like this one, there is still a lot of work to make it to the finish line. “Economic development is truly a team sport,” said Krstanovic. “It takes town staff and elected officials, county and state economic development partners, and workforce partners to lead to a landmark announcement like this. Holly Springs stood out from the competition because we had a construction-ready industrial site with all the infrastructure necessary to bring life science products to market quickly, an educated workforce, and an unmatched quality of life for their employees. It is a very rigorous process to land a large company like FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies. You certainly have to be ready to roll up your sleeves and think creatively to address the needs of the company. We worked late nights, weekends, and holidays. Time is of the essence when working with companies manufacturing life-saving drugs like FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies, and you’ve got to be ready to answer all requests in a timely manner that provide a decision that works for the Town, its residents, and the company.”
What’s in it for the residents? Let’s start with the tax benefit. The current tax base for the Town is about $6.2 billion. Fifteen years ago, the tax base consisted of 10% commercial, and 90% residential. Today, that has shifted to roughly 20% commercial and 80% residential. The strategic goal of the Town was to get that number to 30% commercial, and 70% residential and with this deal, the goal is projected to be surpassed once Phase 1 is operational. This is great news if you’re a Holly Springs homeowner.
Sticking with the financial benefit, the project is expected to bring $2.6 billion into the Wake County economy during the construction phase, with $1.6 billion of that going directly into the Holly Springs economy. “This partnership is a major economic boost for Holly Springs,” said Mayor Dick Sears. “The numbers are extraordinary, with $1.6 billion in estimated increased economic activity during construction, and then $422 million annually. This incredible economic impact means that many local businesses in Holly Springs are likely to experience the positive financial impacts from the company’s location to our Town.” This helps our small businesses in Holly Springs, and helps the Town continue with projects like greenways, parks and infrastructure.
As part of this deal, the NC Department of Transportation has committed $10 million to help keep the traffic from the facility off of the local Holly Springs roads by expanding a route for traffic to move easily in and out of Oakview Innovation Park without having to add substantially more vehicles on Hwy 55.
FUJIFILM is excited about coming to Holly Springs as well. They have been a great town partner with their current facility in Morrisville.
“Holly Springs is a suitable location for us, as it is one of the most active communities in the US in addressing environmental and social issues,” said Kenji Sukeno, president of FUJIFILM Corporation. “FUJIFILM will contribute to realizing a sustainable society by collaborating with the Holly Springs community and stimulating the local economy, and further, by accelerating ‘resolving social issues through business activities’ in alignment with our Sustainable Value Plan 2030. And, the new site is strategically important to accelerate the growth of our Bio CDMO business.”
“We are passionate about the tremendous value that this new facility will bring to our partners in producing life-impacting therapies. To build what will be the largest end-to-end cell culture CDMO facility in North America requires commitment and partnership. We are delighted to have received the strong support from the town of Holly Springs and the state of North Carolina. This is building for the future, both in infrastructure and in talent, as part of the vibrant North Carolina biotech hub,” said Martin Meeson, chief executive officer, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies.
A rigorous data-driven evaluation process was followed to make the selection of Holly Springs as the home for the new facility. Holly Springs was selected for its strong pool of
technical talent, local resources and partners with the right competencies, clean energy resources, and sustainability for future growth. With an existing facility in Morrisville, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is committed to continuing its strong collaboration with state and local officials, which has been built over the years.
FUJIFILM has strong partnerships with NC State University, Wake Technical Community College and other institutions of higher learning. They rely on their university research partners to build a highly skilled pool of talent-ready individuals who can immediately contribute their expertise to the life sciences industry as they look to hire 725 new positions.
They have been a part of the Morrisville community since 1996. As an organization they are an active member of the Morrisville Chamber of Commerce and support the organization in a lot of community initiatives and with their programming. The Morrisville Chamber also has members of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies on their Board. Approximately 14% of FUJIFILM’s employees live in Morrisville.
For more information, go to: www.fujifilmdiosynth.com
