AstraZeneca increases scope of new US API manufacturing facility by $500m

AstraZeneca has broken ground on a new manufacturing facility in Virginia and will up its investment in the project by $500 million to $4.5billion.

The increase will add active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for cancer drugs to the site’s remit, alongside treatments for obesity and diabetes, including its oral GLP-1, baxdrostat and oral PCSK9.

Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “With our $4.5 billion investment in Virginia, the largest in AstraZeneca’s history, we are not only building a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, but also driving life sciences innovation and economic growth.”

The manufacturing facility is expected to bring 3,600 direct and indirect jobs to Virginia, creating an extra 100 new jobs from its expansion to add to the 600 new engineers, scientists and process facilitators that were originally needed. Alongside that, work on the site will create around 3,000 construction jobs.

The facility is expected to be operational in the next four to five years and its expansion will also see it manufacture AstraZeneca’s antibody drug conjugate (ADC) cancer portfolio.

Artist rendering of AstraZeneca’s under-construction manufacturing facility in Virginia

Onshoring pharma manufacturing

AstraZeneca’s increased investment in its US manufacturing base comes amid concerted efforts from President Donald Trump to onshore pharma manufacturing, putting in place both incentives and potential obstacles for the industry.

Attending the company’s ceremony in Virginia on behalf of the government was Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr Mehmet Oz.

“Today’s groundbreaking demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to onshoring drug manufacturing and strengthening supply chains to improve Americans’ access to medication,” he said. “I congratulate AstraZeneca for their investment and invite other foreign manufacturers to follow suit.”

Those that already have US plans include the UK’s GlaxoSmithKline with its plan to invest $30 billion in manufacturing and R&D over the next five years, and Belgium’s UCB, which will expand its biologics manufacturing in the country.