RALEIGH – Taysha Gene Therapies will add more than 200 jobs paying an average of some $120,000 as part of an expansion in Durham County.
The company chose the Triangle over Dallas, Texas, for a 160,000 square foot facility which will serve as its manufacturing site. It is based in Dallas.
It will invest $75 million as part of the expansion.
Taysha joins a growing number of companies in the Triangle area focused on gene therapies.
North Carolina’s Economic Investment Committee approved a state benefits package of more than $5 million for the project at a meeting Thursday morning.
“North Carolina has a thriving life sciences ecosystem with significant expertise in gene therapy manufacturing, and we are delighted to establish our manufacturing center in Durham,” said RA Session II, founder and CEO of Taysha, in a statement. “With our management team with technical and manufacturing know-how leading the charge, this leading facility will serve as a center of excellence for gene therapy development, from preclinical studies through commercialization, and will further Taysha’s leadership position in gene therapy as well as support our next phase of growth.”
Landing of $75M expansion of Texas-based Taysha adds to Triangle’s growing gene therapy hub
The company says Taysha “is a word in the Caddo Native American language meaning ‘ally’ or ‘friend,’ and when translated, also means Texas. We are committed to being an ally to the rare disease community.”
Its technology is “based on recent success in gene therapy development and commercialization: an adeno-associated virus serotype 9 (AAV9) capsid, intrathecal delivery and an efficient manufacturing process.”
“We use an AAV9 capsid to deliver therapeutic genes engineered to replace a mutated gene, enhance the expression of a silenced gene or decrease the expression of a gene,” Taysha explains at its website.
“AAV9 has a unique ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, making it an ideal vector for gene therapies in the CNS, and since its discovery more than 50 years ago, AAV has been one of the most well-studied vehicles for the delivery of gene therapies.”
The jobs will be created over the next three years.
Gov. Roy Cooper hailed the news.
“The pandemic has highlighted the importance of science and innovation to keep us healthy,” Cooper said in the announcement. “Companies like Taysha Gene Therapies continue to expand in North Carolina because we have the scientists, skilled workers and climate for innovation they need to tackle health care’s toughest challenges.”
