Morrisville tech firm leaves NC jobs deal, listing interest rates and layoffs
A Morrisville company that helps people participate in clinical trials from home through a software platform has exited its state incentive agreement to create 250 jobs in the Triangle, blaming broader economic factors, companywide layoffs, and an ownership change for its decision.
In a Dec. 30 letter to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the firm Science 37 said it had not met the minimum hiring thresholds — retaining 99 local positions and adding 83 by the end of 2023 — to comply with its grant agreement.
“During 2022 and 2023, the unfavorable global economic conditions and other adverse macroeconomic factors, such as ongoing inflation, labor and supply chain disruptions, and increasing interest rates have directly impacted our customer demand,” Science 37 Chief Financial Officer Westley King wrote.
He said these challenges hindered Science 37’s customers from raising capital to fund their clinical trials and drug development. In 2023, the company cut half its global workforce and paused local expansion projects.
The North Carolina Economic Investment Committee voted to formally terminate Science 37’s grant during a meeting Tuesday.
Originally based in Southern California, Science 37 moved its headquarters to Research Triangle Park after landing an incentive package from North Carolina in late 2021. The deal would have been worth roughly $3.3 million in corporate tax benefits if Science 37 had reached its hiring goals.
Science 37 had committed to pay the 250 new workers in Wake County an average annual salary of at least $103,000. Its CEO at the time, David Coman, was a former executive at the Durham-based Quintiles (now IQVIA).
In March, Science 37 was acquired by the telehealth company eMed, which conducted another round of layoffs at the Triangle company last month. After being purchased, Science 37 relocated its headquarters from inside RTP to an office building in Morrisville.
Entering this year, the company had 41 full-time employees in North Carolina and 27 based specifically at its headquarters. King wrote that Science 37 had “no intention” to make its remote U.S. workers report to this Morrisville location.
North Carolina did not award any taxpayer dollars through its job development investment grant. Money is tied to companies hitting their hiring and investment targets, and Science 37 fell short in its first grant year.
Most incentive-backed economic projects have failed to achieve their initial jobs promises since North Carolina launched its job development investment grant (JDIG) program in 2003. This includes grants that created some jobs, but not the original headline figure, and grants that created no new jobs. Companies have cited higher interest rates and societal disruptions, like the COVID-19 pandemic, when informing state officials they would leave their incentive agreements.
In addition to ending the Science 37 grant, the state on Tuesday terminated a 2021 JDIG for the residential cabinet maker MasterBrand to create at least 418 jobs in Eastern North Carolina’s Lenoir County while retaining more than 1,400 jobs statewide.
MasterBrand will continue to operate its Lenoir factory in the county seat of Kinston, but the company shuttered two other North Carolina plants in 2024, including a newly acquired site in Statesville.
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Morrisville tech firm leaves NC jobs deal, listing interest rates and layoffs."
