DURHAM, NC – North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has announcedthat healthcare company, GRAIL Inc. plans to create 398 new jobs inDurham and will invest $100 million to support its new facility,over time.

Featuring both office and warehouse space, the newstate-of-the-art laboratory facility will be located in NorthCarolina's Research Triangle Park.

Among the 398 new jobs, varying a range of positions, theaverage salary will be in line with the current average annual wagein Durham County of $71,756.

The project is estimated to grow the state's economy by $1.2billion over the course of 12 years.

Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, GRAIL's scientists,technologists and clinicians are urgently working to revolutionizecancer detection. The company is pioneering a test that detectsmore than 50 cancers with a single blood draw. The company'stesting approach is supported by evidence from a population-scaleclinical study program.

GRAIL's SVP of strategic operations, Uplaksh Kumar describes thecompany's North Carolina expansion as "an important step forward inmaking our pioneering, multi-cancer early detection blood testwidely available to patients and healthcare providers across thecountry."

Through its mission, GRAIL Inc. is aiming to meet the unmetdemand for early cancer detection. Currently, there are existingscreening recommendations within the US for five cancers, whichrepresents less than 50% of cancers in individuals from 50 yearsold to 79 years old. According to GRAIL Inc., current screeningdoes critically improve cancer outcomes, however, nearly 80% ofcancer deaths are attributable to cancers with no recommendedscreening tests.

"Even in tough economic times, companies like GRAIL see thatNorth Carolina is ready to support the life sciences sector with astrong workforce," said Governor Cooper. "North Carolina had asolid foundation for job growth before the virus, and that willmake the road to recovery faster in the coming months."

GRAIL's new project will be facilitated, in part, by a JobDevelopment Investment Grant, which was approved by NorthCarolina's economic investment committee earlier today. Utilizingformula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated bythe new jobs, the agreement authorizes the potential reimbursementto the company of up to $5.2 million throughout 12 years. Paymentsfor all JDIG's only occur following performance verification by thedepartments of commerce and revenue that the company has met itsincremental job creation and investment targets. JDIG projectsresult in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, evenafter taking into consideration the grant's reimbursement paymentsto a given company.

As GRAIL selected a site in Durham County, classified by thestate's economic tier system as Tier 3, the company's JDIGagreements additionally call for moving as much as $1,717,000 intothe state's Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. TheUtility Account helps rural communities finance necessaryinfrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when newjobs are created in a Tier 3 county such as Durham, the new taxrevenue generated through JDIG grants helps more economicallychallenged communities elsewhere in the state.

Partnering with the North Carolina Department of Commerce andthe Economic Development Partnership of NC on this project were theNorth Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina CommunityCollege System and its NC BioNetwork, the North CarolinaBiotechnology Center, Durham County, the Greater Durham Chamber ofCommerce, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NorthCarolina Central University, North Carolina State University, DukeUniversity, Alamance Community College, Durham Tech, Wake Tech, theResearch Triangle Regional Partnership, and Duke Energy.