Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. will build a new manufacturing facility in Durham, generating over 460 new jobs, officials announced on Tuesday.

Governor Roy Cooper and company CEO David Ricks spoke at a news conference to unveil the $470 million investment in the Durham County portion of Research Triangle Park.

Average pay for the new jobs at the plant — which in part will produce injectable drugs to treat diabetes — will exceed $72,000, according to Cooper’s office and the state Commerce Department. The jobs, to be created by 2027, will include scientists, engineers and plant operators.

Lilly, based in Indianapolis, could receive $8.7 million from the state over 12 years if it meets job-creation and investment goals. A state panel approved the incentives agreement earlier Tuesday. Durham County and the state community college system also provided financial sweeteners.

“Life science companies like Lilly continue to choose North Carolina,” said Cooper in a press release. “Our exceptional workforce draws global companies as we continue to grow North Carolina into a worldwide hub for the biotechnology industry.”

North Carolina was competing with Indianapolis and Philadelphia for the plant, according to the Commerce Department.

Lilly already has plants in Indiana, New Jersey and Puerto Rico. In Cooper’s news release, Ricks is quoted as saying the company has invested billions of dollars in new U.S.-based manufacturing because the 2017 federal tax overhaul law “re-balanced the playing field in favor of the American worker.”

Photo via Eli Lilly and Company.

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