AstraZeneca to create around 3,600 Charlottesville jobs with enhanced $4.5bn investment
This is a cornerstone of the company's previously heralded $50bn investment in medicines R & D and manufacturing across the US, disclosed in July.
The first new manufacturing facility is to be located near Charlottesville, in Albemarle County, to develop and manufacture a broader range of medicines including weight management, metabolic and cancer technologies.
The planned $4.5bn constitutes a proposed increase of $500m to support the enhanced manufacturing capability of a broader range of medicines including cancer treatments. The new facility at Rivanna Futures, creating the new direct and indirect jobs, will power economic growth as well as Virginia’s leadership at the forefront of life sciences innovation.
The facility is expected to create 600 highly skilled jobs including engineers, scientists, process facilitators which includes an additional 100 jobs as a result of the expansion. A further 3,000 jobs will be created to support the construction of the facility including engineers, skilled trades and construction workers. It will be at the forefront of technological innovation, leveraging AI, automation, and data analytics to optimise production, according to AZ.
The new facility will produce drug substance for AstraZeneca’s weight management and metabolic portfolio, including oral GLP-1, baxdrostat, oral PCSK9 and combination small molecule products. Today, the companyalso announces that it has expanded the scope to also include state-of-the-art manufacturing for its leading antibody drug conjugate (ADC) cancer portfolio.
Work will start immediately with the facility expected to be operational in the next four to five years. This investment will bring critical medicine manufacturing capabilities to the United States and offers assurance from a national security and health sovereignty perspective, the Cambridge company says.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator, said: “We cannot truly be a wealthy nation without being a healthy nation. Today's groundbreaking demonstrates the Trump Administration's commitment to onshoring drug manufacturing and strengthening supply chains to improve Americans' access to medication. I congratulate AstraZeneca for their investment and invite other foreign manufacturers to follow suit.”
Governor Glenn Youngkin, Commonwealth of Virginia, said: “AstraZeneca’s $4.5 billion investment is the largest in the company’s history and a game-changer for American drug manufacturing. The investment is set to create 3,600 jobs in Virginia, strengthening America’s ability to produce life-saving medicines. Thanks to programs like the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program and the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, AstraZeneca is going to be able to hit the ground running. That means better jobs, better medicine, and better opportunities for the people of Virginia.”
Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, commented: “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.
“This new facility will create thousands of jobs and strengthen America’s national security and health sovereignty. I also want to thank Governor Youngkin and his team for their energy and vision. We have found in Virginia an amazing team that moves at incredible speed to build a better future for this Commonwealth and the American people.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Albemarle County and the General Assembly’s Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission to secure the project for Virginia.
