AstraZeneca breaks ground on $4.5B Virginia manufacturing facility, an increase of $500M

Cambridge, U.K.-based drugmaker AstraZeneca has broken ground on a new manufacturing facility, near Charlottesville, Virginia, which will be focused on chronic diseases. The $4.5 billion capital expenditure includes a proposed $500 million increase to support an enhanced production capability for a broader range of medicines, including cancer, metabolic, and weight management.

The Virginia drug substance facility will produce small molecules, peptides and oligonucleotides for AstraZeneca’s weight management and metabolic portfolio, including oral GLP-1, baxdrostat, oral PCSK9 and combination small molecule products.

“The company is announcing it has expanded the scope to also include state-of-the-art manufacturing for our leading antibody drug conjugate (ADC) cancer portfolio,” AstraZeneca said. “Work will start immediately with the facility expected to be operational in the next four to five years.”

The facility, which will create approximately 3,600 direct and indirect jobs and use AI, automation, and data analytics, is AstraZeneca’s largest single manufacturing investment, according to the company. Currently, the U.S. is the drugmaker’s largest market and is home to 19 manufacturing, R&D, and commercial sites.

“Today’s groundbreaking demonstrates the Trump administration's commitment to onshoring drug manufacturing and strengthening supply chains to improve Americans’ access to medication,” Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a statement. “I congratulate AstraZeneca for their investment and invite other foreign manufacturers to follow suit.”

The investment is part of AstraZeneca’s pledge made in July to invest $50 billion in manufacturing and R&D in the U.S. by 2030, as the company looks to reach its goal of $80 billion in revenue with 50% generated in the U.S.

The $50 billion investment in the U.S. over the next five years also includes an expansion of the company’s R&D facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland, an R&D center in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, cell therapy manufacturing facilities in Rockville, Maryland and Tarzana, California, as well as continuous manufacturing expansion in Mount Vernon, Indiana and specialty manufacturing expansion in Coppell, Texas.

In November 2024, AstraZeneca announced a $3.5 billion investment to expand its U.S. manufacturing and R&D capabilities, set for completion by the end of 2026. The capital expenditure includes $2 billion for new projects, including a next-generation biologics manufacturing facility in Maryland, cell therapy manufacturing facilities on both the East and West Coasts, as well as specialty manufacturing operations in Texas.

Last year, AstraZeneca also unveiled a $2.5 billion plan for R&D, biotech and manufacturing expansion in Beijing — the company’s first vaccine manufacturing site in China.