Jun. 14—GREENSBORO — ProKidney Corp., a company focused on combating chronic kidney disease, has ended weeks of speculation by picking Greensboro for a new biomanufacturing facility potentially creating up to 330 jobs and involving an investment of up to $485 million, Gov. Roy Cooper's office announced Tuesday.
ProKidney, which already has a Piedmont Triad presence through its headquarters and other facilities in Winston-Salem, will develop a commercial manufacturing facility for REACT, formally known as REnal Autologous Cell Therapy, the company's lead product candidate being developed for the treatment of chronic kidney disease.
The average salary for the new positions at the facility are estimated to be $74,636. The current average wage in Guilford County is $57,190 the governor's office reports.
"We considered many factors in determining where best to build future commercial manufacturing capacity for REACT," said ProKidney CEO Dr. Tim Bertram. "Because of North Carolina's depth and breadth of biotechnology talent, the advantage of locating the plant near our headquarters and pilot manufacturing plant in Winston-Salem and the state's interest in continuing to grow its biotechnology industry, we determined that adding manufacturing capacity here in Greensboro would be in the best interest of ProKidney, its shareholders and its local stakeholders."
The company was pledged economic incentives by the state of North Carolina that could amount up to $5.1 million over 12 years if specific investment and job creation benchmarks are met.