(Reuters) -AstraZeneca said on Friday it will invest $2 billion to expand its manufacturing footprint in Maryland as part of its previously announced $50 billion plan to expand manufacturing and research capabilities in the U.S. by 2030.
Global pharmaceutical companies have been ramping up investments in the United States to expand production capacity, following President Donald Trump's call for the industry to make more medicines domestically instead of importing active ingredients or finished products.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's $2 billion investment will help expand its biologics manufacturing facility in Frederick and construct a new state-of-the-art facility in Gaithersburg for the development and clinical supply of drugs to be used in trials.
This investment marks the fourth in AstraZeneca's larger expansion plan, and will support 2,600 jobs across the two sites in Maryland, including the creation of 300 highly skilled jobs.
CEO Pascal Soriot has looked to balance Trump's demands on the sector with a full listing of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, as well as a deal to lower drug prices for millions of Americans.
AstraZeneca's Frederick facility currently produces biologics, a class of medications that come from living organisms and include a wide range of products such as vaccines and other therapies. These are used across AstraZeneca's portfolio of cancer, autoimmune, respiratory and rare disease treatments.
The planned expansion will nearly double commercial manufacturing capacity, allowing increased supply of existing medicines and, for the first time, production across the company's rare disease portfolio, AstraZeneca said, adding that it will create 200 highly skilled jobs and 900 construction roles.
Its new clinical manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg, which will be fully operational by 2029, will create an additional 100 jobs, retain 400 roles and support a further 1,000 construction-related jobs.
The drugmaker's previous announcements included a new cell therapy manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland, a new drug substance manufacturing facility in Virginia and the expansion of its existing manufacturing facility in Coppell, Texas.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
LATEST POSTS
- 1
The 10 Most Persuasive Forerunners in Innovation - 2The most effective method to Pick the Right Volvo XC40 Trim for Your Way of life
- 3Wolf Bites Woman in Shocking Attack at Busy Shopping Center
- 4My skin feels drier, my lips thinner and my makeup heavier. How do I adjust my routine for aging skin?
- 5Advocacy groups react after Mattel introduces 1st Barbie doll with autism
- Israel Police arrest twenty-one as anti-war protests grow despite broad support for Iran war
- Comet MAPS faces a make-or-break moment as it dives toward the sun on April 4 — could it shine in the daytime sky?
- Watch SpaceX launch powerful ocean-mapping satellite for Europe and NASA early Nov. 17
- Satellite constellations could obscure most space telescope observations by late 2030s: 'That part of the image will be forever lost'
- 'A completely new manufacturing frontier': Space Forge fires up 1st commercial semiconductor factory in space
- NASA loses contact with its Maven spacecraft orbiting Mars for the past decade
- The most effective method to Recuperate After a Dental Embed Strategy: A Far reaching Guide
- What is the Insurrection Act? Can Trump really use the military to 'put an end' to Minneapolis ICE protests?
- Apollo's impatient old-timers are rooting for NASA's return to the moon with Artemis II launch
