AbbVie to build new $1.4B manufacturing campus in North Carolina

Part of a $100 billion commitment to U.S. R&D and manufacturing over the next decade, North Chicago-headquartered AbbVie is investing $1.4 billion to build a 185-acre pharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Durham, North Carolina.

Construction of the campus, located near Research Triangle Park, will start in 2026 and is slated for completion by the end of 2028. The first phase of construction will include small volume parenteral (SVP) drug product manufacturing facilities, next-generation laboratories, a warehouse, as well as administrative offices, the biopharma company said.

The Durham site will integrate advanced manufacturing, laboratory technologies, and artificial intelligence (AI) to support the production of AbbVie’s growing pipeline of immunology, neuroscience, and oncology medicines.

“Small volume parenterals are sterile injectable pharmaceutical products with volumes typically less than 100 mL, including vials, prefilled cartridges and prefilled syringes containing medicines for injection or infusion,” according to the announcement. “When completed, this campus will serve as AbbVie’s U.S. center of excellence for SVP manufacturing and deliver next-generation medicines to patients in the U.S. and worldwide.”

AbbVie said the $1.4 billion capital expenditure — its first major investment in North Carolina — is the drugmaker’s largest-ever in a single campus and will result in the creation of 734 jobs, including engineers, scientists, manufacturing operators and laboratory technicians. The company selected the Durham site due to the strength of the regional workforce and its ability to support future expansion.

Other US investments

Over the past 12 months, AbbVie has committed to investing more than $2.2 billion in U.S. manufacturing creating more than 1,300 jobs in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. Currently, the company employs more than 6,000 people across 11 domestic manufacturing sites.

In September 2025, AbbVie broke ground on a new chemical synthesis facility in North Chicago as the first phase of its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) expansion strategy. That plant is intended to enable the return of API production for select neuroscience, immunology, and oncology products from Europe and Asia to the U.S.

In February 2026, AbbVie announced a $380 million investment to build two new API facilities at its flagship campus in North Chicago. The facilities will leverage advanced manufacturing technologies and AI to support the production of next-generation neuroscience and obesity medicines. The company is also investing $70 million in its facility in Massachusetts, which serves as a center for biologics research, development, and manufacturing. 

In January 2026, AbbVie entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a drug delivery device manufacturing facility in Arizona, along with associated intellectual property, from West Pharmaceutical Services. The acquisition includes multiple production lines and on-body injector technology used for drug delivery, with plans to support current and next-generation immunology and neuroscience medicines.

Drug pricing deal

AbbVie in January announced that it struck a drug pricing agreement with the Trump administration in exchange for a three-year exemption from tariffs and future pricing mandates. The drugmaker also pledged $100 billion in U.S.-based R&D and capital investments, including manufacturing, over the next 10 years.

It is a significant increase from AbbVie’s commitment in 2025 to invest more than $10 billion in its U.S. manufacturing over the next decade.

Edita Hamzic, healthcare analyst at data and analytics firm GlobalData, in a recent note said AbbVie’s agreement with the Trump administration signals a “fundamental shift” in U.S. drug pricing policy in which domestic manufacturing investment is no longer a peripheral consideration but a central element of negotiations.

“Exemptions from import tariffs and future pricing controls provide AbbVie with the flexibility to expand drug manufacturing capacity, modernize production technologies, and strengthen supply chain resilience while continuing to invest in its pipeline,” Hamzic said.