U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis said on May 2 that the completion of Novartis’s U.S. manufacturing, research and development expansion plan, including a new facility in North Carolina, represents significant progress for the state.
Sen. Tillis issued the statement one day after Novartis announced plans for a new active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing site in Morrisville. The 56,200-square-foot facility will support production for solid dosage tablets, capsules and RNA therapeutics. This development expands the company’s presence in North Carolina to five facilities across three sites and advances end-to-end U.S. production capabilities. The project forms the final piece of the firm’s recent expansions in the area.
“This is another big win for North Carolina. Novartis is opening a new manufacturing facility in Morrisville, which will bring more jobs to NC and help strengthen our state’s reputation as a center for innovation. Thank you to Novartis for continuing to invest in NC’s future,” Tillis said in a social media post.
The Morrisville project is expected to contribute $771 million in investments in Durham and Wake counties. The flagship manufacturing hub is also expected to create 700 new direct jobs by the end of 2030 and support more than 3,000 indirect jobs. North Carolina announced nearly $4 billion in life sciences investments in 2025, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
North Carolina’s life sciences sector employs more than 75,000 people and generates $88 billion in annual economic impact while bringing in $2.4 billion in state and local tax revenue each year, according to Brookings Institution. The state ranks as the fourth-largest biotech hub in the U.S. and has experienced sustained growth in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Recent investments have focused on expanding domestic production capacity across oncology, immunology and other therapeutic areas.
Tillis was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014 and won re-election in 2020. Before entering federal office, he served as Speaker of the North Carolina House. Tillis has a background in management consulting and resides in Huntersville with his family, according to his official biography.
