A town in North Carolina with a population of about 50,000 has become an important center for the production of next-generation obesity drugs. Holly Springs is now the focus of major investments from Amgen and Roche, who are together spending more than $3.5 billion to build facilities aimed at competing with industry leaders Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
This development follows a long-term effort by Holly Springs to attract drug manufacturers. The turning point came in 2006 when Novartis chose the town as the site for a vaccine manufacturing plant. Local officials made significant commitments to support the project, including providing cleared land, new infrastructure, and emergency services. Although these early efforts stretched the town’s finances, they paved the way for future investment.
Amgen began construction on a $550 million drug substance plant in Holly Springs in 2022. As its obesity drug candidate MariTide showed promise, Amgen committed another $1 billion to expand operations by late 2024.
Roche’s Genentech division also increased its investment rapidly. In May 2025, Roche announced plans to spend $700 million on a facility in Holly Springs and added another $1.3 billion in January 2026. The site will produce potential obesity treatments such as CT-388, a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist.
Amgen is currently conducting seven Phase 3 clinical trials for MariTide with completion dates expected between 2027 and 2028. Its first Holly Springs facility opened last year, and employment at both plants could reach 725 people by 2032 as expansion continues.
Roche shared results from Phase 2 trials of CT-388 earlier this year and intends to begin two Phase 3 studies soon. Its manufacturing plant is projected to be operational by 2029.
Michael Haley, executive director of Wake County Economic Development, described how decisions made years ago put Holly Springs in contention when companies like Amgen and Roche searched for locations for their projects.
“They started planning to be a life science manufacturing hub 15, 20 years ago. They focused on very traditional economic development structures,” Haley told BioSpace. “Those included a business park, greenfield sites, a graywater system and water and wastewater infrastructure.”
Holly Springs’ proximity—about twenty miles—to Raleigh has also helped attract investment due to access to talent from local universities and colleges. Global Location Strategies (GLS) recently ranked the Raleigh-Cary area as the top location nationally for building biologics production plants because of its skilled workforce pipeline.
GLS CEO Didi Caldwell said that neighboring Durham–Chapel Hill metro area holds particular expertise: “Durham-Chapel Hill is number one for biologic specialization,” Caldwell told BioSpace. “They have this deep, deep heritage of biotech, pharma and regulated manufacturing, so they have an exceptional concentration of bioprocessing and quality assurance roles.”
Caldwell pointed out that access to qualified workers remains challenging across the U.S., noting there are approximately 60,000 open positions in pharma manufacturing nationwide.
Demand for talent continues rising locally as Amgen expects to add about 370 jobs while Roche aims for over 500 positions at its new site. Haley expressed confidence that these roles can be filled thanks to tens of thousands of graduates entering the job market each year from regional educational institutions or relocating from elsewhere.
“Fifteen years ago we had 35,000 life science employees and people would ask ‘Can we maintain our talent advantage?’ Now we have over 75,000 people,” Haley said. “We met the challenges through the years and we feel very confident . . . that we can continue to meet the needs of our existing companies.”
The region faces ongoing challenges related to rapid growth—not only staffing but also ensuring adequate water supply and energy infrastructure keep pace with expanding industrial needs. Population growth has been significant; between 2020 and 2024 alone, Raleigh's metro area grew by about ten percent.
Competition among businesses seeking water resources has intensified amid new data center proposals near Holly Springs—one planned center ten miles away has drawn public concern regarding utility usage—which reflects broader trends across North Carolina.
Haley acknowledged increasing strain on local utilities: “There is pressure on infrastructure just because of sheer growth that we’re seeing.” He emphasized that it’s difficult for municipalities “to play catch-up” but stressed forward planning: “For us the solution is to have as much foresight as possible so that our utility providers are calculating potential demand…when they’re developing infrastructure that they need.”
