What we know about the Swiss biopharma company behind the $1.5B Rock Hill venture

Octapharma is one of the largest economic development commitments in the history of York County, at $1.5 billion worth of investment and more than 1,500 jobs coming to Rock Hill. (Some 1,200 jobs will be new and another 300 are being relocated from Charlotte.)

But, what exactly is the business?

The Lachen, Switzerland, company is privately owned since its founding in 1983. Octapharma uses proteins from human plasma to create medicine and treatments for an array of conditions including bleeding disorders and autoimmune diseases.

The company has more than 11,000 employees worldwide and generated about $4 billion in revenue last year, according to its website. That site, along with annual financial reports and online industry reports reviewed by The Herald, describes a growing company in the lucrative field of biomedicine.

Here’s what else to know about Octapharma:

Octapharma has five advanced manufacturing sites, all in Europe. The company has offices in more than 30 countries. In the U.S., the company has offices is New Jersey and Florida. The Rock Hill site will be a U.S. headquarters and have a testing lab.

Octapharma Plasma, a network of more than 180 plasma donation centers that opened its first U.S. site in 2006, is based in Charlotte off Westlake Drive. That site includes a testing lab that will remain, but about 300 executive jobs will move from the Charlotte facility to Rock Hill.

Octapharma Plasma has eight South Carolina locations, but none in the Rock Hill region. Three are in Columbia.

The Rock Hill project is a combination corporate office and manufacturing site, elected and economic development officials said prior to Monday’s announcement. Some described it as the first of its kind for the company in the U.S.

Rock Hill will add a 3.5 million-liter capacity for plasma, or about a third of Octapharma’s wordwide capacity. About 88% of plasma donations for the company come from the U.S., before they’re sent to a manufacturing site in Europe.

Now that collected plasma will go to Rock Hill.

Plasma, the liquid half of blood, is made of water, enzymes, proteins, electrolytes and antibodies. Plasma can’t be manufactured, so about 200,000 donors from more than 200 donations centers across the U.S. and Germany provide it for Octapharma each month.

Donations at its sites account for 88% of the plasma used by the company to create medicine and medical treatments.

Donors who pass a medical exam can be paid for donating plasma. With bonuses, first-time donors can earn $750 within 35 days. Earnings vary by amount donated, red blood cell levels and special offers.

Octapharma had more than 30 projects in its research and development pipeline last year, with an 8.8% increase in development investment compared to 2024. There are seven clinical and preclinical research sites across the company.

Company products include everything from medication for hemophiliacs to patches for the military to allow soldiers to stop bleeding in the field.

This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline “What we know about the Swiss biopharma company behind the $1.5B Rock Hill venture.”