Pfizer facility in Sanford plans to add new jobs

SANFORD, North Carolina (WTVD) -- The Pfizer facility in Sanford plans to add 28 jobs, and the facility says they are already attempting to fill the positions.

Governor Cooper toured the facility with leaders of Pfizer Thursday morning, commending their $66 million investment in North Carolina.

The focus of the jobs will be on the creation on Nimenrix, a vaccine for four strains of the meningococcal disease. When Pfizer acquired the drug in the fall of 2015, efforts to move production from Belgium to the United States were almost immediate.

In 2009, the company acquired Wyeth for $68 billion. Facility downsizing left hundreds in Sanford without a job. When asked if the 28 new jobs were a first wave of work to come, a spokesperson for Pfizer said it all depended on sales.

Governor Cooper emphasized the importance of higher education in order to attract more high paying jobs to North Carolina.

"They're not going to come here unless we have a skilled workforce," said Cooper.