Roche’s biotechnology unit Genentech has broken ground on a $700 million manufacturing campus in Holly Springs, North Carolina, marking the company’s first production site on the U.S. East Coast. The 700,000-square-foot plant will be built on a 100-acre parcel and is scheduled to be operational in 2029. Genentech said the facility will focus on producing its next generation of metabolic medicines, including obesity treatments, and will incorporate advanced automation and digital biomanufacturing technologies. The project is expected to create more than 1,900 jobs—about 1,500 during construction and more than 400 permanent positions once the plant is running. The investment forms part of Roche and Genentech’s broader $50 billion commitment to expand U.S. research, development and manufacturing capacity amid federal efforts to bolster domestic pharmaceutical production. North Carolina officials, including Governor Josh Stein, welcomed the project as a boost to the state’s growing life-sciences hub.