Some 200 biopharmaceutical jobs will be coming to North Carolina after all, now that Merck & Co. has officially agreed to build a new 272,000-square foot vaccine manufacturing facility in the Treyburn development at Durham.

Ray Gilmartin, chief executive officer of Merck, and North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley announced on Tuesday that the long-discussed deal was done.

Merck held off on making the decision final until the bundle of incentives offered by the state was settled. North Carolina helped lure the plant, which will cost some $300 million, with a package of incentives worth more than $30 million. The Herald-Sun of Durham reported Wednesday that the package totals $39.4 million, including $24 million for land acquisition and improvements. The deal was not consummated until Tuesday morning when the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee reached final agreement “unanimously,” the governor’s office said. Other incentives include tax credits for newly created jobs as part of the Job Growth and Infrastructure Act.

Easley’s office said that the money for the land acquisition is the first such assistance provided by the state’s Site Infrastructure Development Program, which was approved in December.

“Merck exemplifies the type of growth industry we want in North Carolina — biopharmaceutical,” Easley said in a press conference in Raleigh. “These are jobs of the future, jobs that will not go overseas and the competition for them is fierce. Securing this project will enhance North Carolina’s international reputation in this field, and catalyze new growth in the state.”

Merck is an international conglomerate, employing more than 60,000 people with annual sales of more than $22 billion.

North Carolina appeared to win a bidding war for the plant in December when Gilmartin announced the decision. At the time, Gilmartin cited the incentives as well as the workforce in the Research Triangle Park area as the primary reasons in selecting North Carolina over Georgia.

Part of the incentives plan comes from the Life Sciences Revenue Bond Authority, which was established by the General Assembly during a special session triggered by the possibility of landing Merck.

Merck said it site development should begin in June with all facilities being fully staffed by 2008.

Merck: www.merck.com