Firm that makes COVID-19 treatment remdesivir to add 275 jobs in Wake County
California biotechnology company Gilead Sciences will add nearly 300 jobs in Wake County over the next two years, after North Carolina approved an incentive package worth nearly $10 million.
The incentive package was approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee on Tuesday.
Gilead Sciences is one of the few companies to get a COVID-19 treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the past year. In October, its antiviral treatment remdesivir received FDA clearance, and it was one of the drugs that was given to former President Donald Trump when he contracted the coronavirus.
The company also makes several treatments for HIV/AIDS, liver disease and viruses.
Gilead plans to create an office in Wake County that will house 275 employees working in finance, human resources, information technology and cybersecurity, the state’s Commerce Department said.
Gilead said the office should open in the third quarter of this year, and it will immediately begin recruiting for dozens of roles.
The company has not yet secured office space in the county, a spokesman for Gilead said.
Gilead selected Wake County after considering a similar incentives offer from Georgia, Commerce said. The offer from that state would have given the company $10 million in incentives to locate in Atlanta.
Based in Foster City, California, Gilead has more than 13,000 employees, with the majority of them based in California.
As part of North Carolina’s offer to the company, Wake County will also chip in $52,500 in incentives to the company, and the state will offer $350,000 in community college training.
The jobs will pay a minimum average wage of more than $142,000, according to Commerce. The average wage in Wake County is nearly $64,000, Commerce said.
“We look forward to introducing Gilead to the local community,” Andrew Dickinson, Gilead’s chief financial officer, said in a statement. “We are eager to welcome many of the highly talented, highly skilled people who live in the Research Triangle region to work with us as we seek to advance new medicines for people with unmet medical needs.”
Incentives from the state will only pay out if Gilead meets certain hiring and investment milestones in the coming years.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Firm that makes COVID-19 treatment remdesivir to add 275 jobs in Wake County."
