Wake County approves business-development grant for Coriolis Pharma; company to locate North American HQ in Morrisville

The Wake County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 18 approved a five‑year business development grant agreement with Coriolis Pharma to support the company’s decision to locate its North American headquarters in Morrisville.

County Assistant Manager Michael James told commissioners the project will include an almost $11 million planned investment and is expected to create about 50 jobs with average salaries near $150,000. “We’re pleased that they chose Morrisville,” James said during the presentation.

Under the county agreement, the project qualifies in the county’s “headquarters tier.” Minimum performance criteria in the grant call for at least a $5 million incremental increase to assessed tax value and creation of at least 35 new jobs that meet the specified average salary threshold. If Coriolis meets those benchmarks and remains current on property taxes, the county will pay 35% of the new property tax revenue generated by qualifying improvements for the five qualifying years. James said Morrisville approved its local participation on Aug. 12 and the state is not participating in the package.

Coriolis also agreed to participate in Wake County’s upward mobility bonus program, which requires three baseline commitments (a nondiscrimination policy, affordable employer-sponsored health insurance and paid parental leave) and at least two of four additional practices (education supports, childcare supports, transportation supports or second‑chance hiring practices). James said the combined county incentive and upward-mobility participation will total “a little over $100,000” paid out over the five‑year agreement, contingent on performance.

No members of the public spoke on the item at the county meeting; commissioners moved and seconded approval and the motion carried on a voice vote.

New hires are expected to include technical positions such as Ph.D.-level scientists and staff for lab, storage and manufacturing support. James said Coriolis opened a U.S. location in Ann Arbor in 2024 and had been seeking a North American headquarters prior to selecting the SPARK Life Sciences campus in Morrisville.

The board made approval conditional on terms acceptable to the county attorney. The agreement requires Coriolis to pay property taxes in full before incentive payments would be released. The county clerk recorded no online public comments for the item.

What’s next: With the county vote, staff will finalize the grant agreement and proceed with the administrative steps necessary for execution and performance monitoring.