Pharmaceutical manufacturers in North Carolina: 17 plants and what each one makes

In 2023 Pfizer bought the 20-acre Sanford North site next door to add capacity for biologics. Together the two sites cover about 250 acres and make several products for Pfizer's own pipeline.

In 2020 Novo Nordisk added a plant across the street that makes the active ingredient, so the campus now covers both the drug substance and the finished, filled product. Everything made here supplies Novo Nordisk's own US market.

The site focuses on vaccine manufacturing, biologics and drug substance for Merck, whose head office is in Rahway, New Jersey.

The lines use robots, self-driving carts and an automated warehouse. Lilly says the automation lets the site make about twice as much as its older plants. It supplies Lilly's own medicines worldwide.

The campus also has its own quality control labs. Biogen's medicines treat neurology, immunology and rare diseases and are sold in more than 80 countries.

Secondary manufacturing means turning finished batches into the packs that reach pharmacies. The site is part of GSK plc's global network.

The complex has a fractionation plant and a separate purification and filling plant. Its medicines are made from human plasma and treat chronic and rare diseases. Grifols was founded in Barcelona in 1909.

Its solutions go to hospitals, operating rooms, emergency departments, intensive care units, surgery centers, nursing homes and patients treated at home.

It takes programs from early development (cell lines, cell banks, material for safety studies) through clinical and commercial supply, and helps with regulatory filings. Best for biotech and pharma companies with biologics, advanced therapies or vaccines that need large-scale production.

The campus runs Thermo Fisher's first fully working continuous manufacturing line, handles controlled drugs and does secondary packaging. Since 2015 it has invested $23 million in sterile capacity. Good for clinical trial material and commercial supply when you need solid and sterile work under one roof.

The 333,000-square-foot campus was Metrics Contract Services until Catalent bought it in late 2022. Over 400 people work there, and it can make more than one billion tablets and capsules a year in small and mid-size batches. It focuses on fast-track, orphan and rare disease programs, including cancer medicines.

Alcami covers formulation, packaging, labeling, storage and testing labs, from preclinical work to commercial supply. It works with biotech firms and established drug companies, including developers of biologics, cell and gene therapies and small-molecule drugs.

KBI develops cell lines (both mammalian and microbial), develops the process and runs GMP production. It also supports cell therapy programs. It is part of JSR Life Sciences, with other sites in the US and Europe.

Reactors range from 400 to 2,000 liters. The site holds a DEA licence for Schedule II to V controlled substances, follows ISO 14001 and ISO 9000, and hosts more than 200 customer audits a year. Good for biotechs and drug companies that need a clinical-stage ingredient made, including controlled substances.

The site supports preclinical work through Phase II, does carbon-14 radiolabelling and is DEA approved for Schedule I to V controlled substances. Its quality system is certified to ISO 9001:2015. Sterling's head office is in Cramlington in the UK.

Cosette works mainly in skin care medicines, generics, over-the-counter products and cancer treatment, with both branded and generic products. It holds a DEA licence for Schedules II to V. It is the closest drug maker on this list to Charlotte.

MedPharm started in 1999 at King's College London. In Durham it covers formulation, testing, scale-up, clinical trial material, commercial manufacturing, stability studies and packaging. It works on products for the skin, nails, eyes, ears, nose and lungs.