Gov. Pat McCrory awarded his first economic development incentives Thursday with the announcement that a French company will create 44 jobs in Durham.

bioMérieux, a health diagnostics company, plans to invest $48.3 million in its Durham facility over the next three years. It will receive a $220,000 One North Carolina Fund grant and a local match if it meets the job and investment targets.

"I applaud the One North Carolina Fund," bioMérieux CEO Marc Mackowiak said in a statement. "It is a forward thinking initiative that will drive infrastructure and economic development in our state."

The company has more than 630 employees in Durham and provides diagnostic agents and instruments that identify infectious diseases and perform cancer screenings.

McCrory's office did not disclose the average salaries for the new jobs, but said the annual payroll will be $2.2 million. That averages to $50,000 a year.