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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Spain-based Grifols Therapeutics Expands Operations in Clayton, North Carolina

06/10/2020
Spain-based Grifols Therapeutics, the global healthcare company, will expand its operations in Clayton, North Carolina. The new $351.6 million specialized blood plasma facility and logistics center is expected to create 300 jobs in Johnston County.

Grifols Therapeutics is a leading supplier of medicines derived from human plasma. A subsidiary of Barcelona, Spain-based parent Grifols, S.A., the company decided to expand its operations in North Carolina with a new plasma fractionation facility and logistics center at its Johnston County campus to help meet the growing demand for plasma derived medicines. Fractionation is the process of separating different components in blood plasma, to produce proteins that are essential for patients who face sometimes life-threatening conditions.

As part of Grifols commitment to society, the company is also playing a leadership role in the response to COVID-19 by developing a plasma-based antibody treatment for the disease.

In partnership with the federal government, Grifols is collecting convalescent plasma from eligible COVID-19 survivors across the country. Grifols’ 13 plasma collection centers in North Carolina are participating in this important effort. Convalescent plasma from donors will be manufactured into a hyper-immune therapy specific to COVID-19 at the company’s manufacturing campus in Clayton.

“Today is a very exciting day for Grifols. We are extremely proud to expand our manufacturing operations in the state of North Carolina,” said Doug Burns, President of Grifols Therapeutics. “True to Grifols mission of improving the health and wellbeing of patients, our new state-of-the-art fractionation facility will help meet the growing demand for plasma-derived medicines in the United States and around the world."

Grifols Therapeutics’ project in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee.

Over the course of 12 years, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $1.72 billion. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $5,161,500, spread over 12 years. Payments for all JDIGs only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets. 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 Grifols chose a site in Johnston County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 3, the company’s JDIG agreement also calls for moving as much as $1,721,000 into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when new jobs are created in a Tier 3 county such as Johnston, the new tax revenue generated through JDIG grants helps more economically challenged communities elsewhere in the state.

"It’s a challenging time in our state and our nation as the coronavirus pandemic impacts our lives, but today’s decision confirms the fundamentals of the North Carolina economy remain strong,” said Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland. “I welcome Grifols’ vote of confidence to expand their business in our state.”

“Companies like Grifols continue to choose expansion in North Carolina because our workforce can meet their needs of this important facility,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “During this public health crisis, we have seen the value of manufacturing close to home and this expansion means new, life-saving medicines will be manufactured in Clayton.”

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