Kidney disease treatment company picks Greensboro for 330 jobs, $485M investment

RALEIGH – A company developing treatments for kidney disease will invest $485 million and create some 330 jobs under an agreement approved Tuesday by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Economic Investment Committee.

ProKidney, which is already based in Winston-Salem, will receive some $35 million in state and local tax incentives if all job creation and investment targets are met.

Jobs will pay an average wage of just under $75,000.

“We considered many factors in determining where best to build future commercial manufacturing capacity for REACT®,” said Dr. Tim Bertram, Chief Executive Officer of ProKidney, in a press release following the EIC meeting. “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, NC, 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. We look forward to continue growing our business along with the state that we have called home since our founding.”

Local incentives of some $28 million had been approved before the EIC added $5.7 million under a Job Development Investment Grant.

ProKidney hopes to win regulatory approve for its technology in 2027. The company estimates that 4-5 million people can utilize the treatment annually.

Its lead product candidate, REACT, “is a first-of-its-kind, patented, proprietary therapy with the potential to preserve kidney function in patients at high risk of kidney failure,” the company and the governor’s press office said in the announcement. “ProKidney’s approach utilizes a patient’s own kidney cells in the treatment process.”

Sites in Virginia and Texas also were considered for the expansion, according to the Department of Commerce.

“Innovative life science companies like ProKidney understand that North Carolina offers the key ingredients for business success,” said Governor Roy Cooper in a statement. “Our leadership in this important industry sector is recognized around the world, thanks to the specialized workforce training and education systems that support North Carolina’s biotech companies.”