Texas firm backs out of expansion deal in Durham

DURHAM – A Texas-headquartered gene therapy company that had planned a $75 million expansion in Durham County is backing out of an economic incentives deal made in 2020 with the State of North Carolina.

Taysha Gene Therapies made a deal worth more than $5 million in economic incentives to build a 160,000 square foot facility in Durham County in 2020 that would employ more than 200 workers with roles that paid more than $120,000 in annual wages.

But according to a staffer with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, who spoke at a regularly scheduled meeting of the state’s Economic Investment Committee on Tuesday morning, the firm requested to terminate their agreement with the state.

That request was granted by the committee members on Tuesday morning, who voted unanimously to approve the termination of the agreement that was previously formed.

The company did not immediately respond to a request to comment from WRAL TechWire.

Taysha Gene Therapies joins Microsoft and Advance Auto Parts as firms that have backed out of economic incentive deals in the Triangle in the prior year. In 2022, Centene also backed out of a deal that projected to boost North Carolina’s economy by as much as $30 billion.