A new facility is now open in Holly Springs that is designed to help fight the spread of flu viruses such as H1N1.

Swiss company Novartis said it's too late for the current season, but CEO of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Andrin Oswald said the facility can quickly supply 150 million doses of vaccine within 6 months of a declared pandemic as early as 2011.

"The opening of this facility marks the opening and the beginning of a new era of more modern and efficient influenza vaccines."

It's the first facility in the U.S. to replace the egg-based manufacturing process that's been in place for 50 years.

Egg-based technology isn't obsolete, but by using cell based technology, versus growing the virus in chicken eggs, the manufacturing process can start weeks earlier.

"It'll help us respond to a pandemic but it'll also give us the opportunity to make seasonal vaccine here in the United States," said Matthew Stober, Global Head of Technical Operations for Novartis.

There's $1 billion invested in the facility through a partnership between Novartis and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. On hand for the opening was Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who compared what the facility, can do to the 60 million swine flu doses currently in the U.S.

"This facility here in Holly Springs if it were up and running today, we would have had 150 million doses in 6 months which is a big leap forward from where we've been," Sebelius said. "Within a couple of years we will have plenty of dosage coming out of this plant for the whole United States."

The technology is being used in Europe but isn't approved to be sold in the U.S. yet.

The company expects to but fully operational by 2013 and employ 350 skilled workers. Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears said the town invested about $10 million in incentives and said the state offered about $21 million. He said it's already paying off and is great news in this economy.

"I think in this day in age with the economy the way it is, anybody who can bring 3 or 4 hundred jobs to a town is doing very well, we're very proud of that," Sears said.

Novartis already operates a cell-based flu vaccines plant in Marburg, Germany.

Shares in Novartis were up 0.36 percent at 55.35 Swiss francs ($54.70) on the Zurich exchange.