Dive Brief:
- AstraZeneca announced a $3.5 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing and research and development by the end of 2026, the UK-based pharmaceutical company disclosed on Tuesday.
- The global expansion includes an R&D center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, biologics manufacturing facility in Maryland, cell therapy manufacturing capacity on the West and East coasts and a specialty manufacturing facility in Texas.
- The investment expects to create over 1,000 jobs and enhance the development of cutting-edge therapies in the U.S., AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in the release.
Dive Insight:
The U.S. investments are part of AstraZeneca’s goal to land $80 billion in total revenue by 2030, as set out at its Investors Day in May.
The pharma company previously disclosed its plans for the $300 million cell therapy plant in Rockville, Maryland, back in February. AstraZeneca also laid out its plans for the Cambridge facility in 2022, which is expected to complete in 2026 and serve as a strategic R&D hub and the corporate headquarters for the British pharma’s rare disease subsidiary Alexion.
The company is also raising its full-year guidance to $14.9 billion in adjusted EBITDA, an 8.8% increase from its last projection. The U.S. is AstraZeneca’s largest market, generating 44% of its total revenue, according to its Q3 earnings presentation.
The positive growth was due to increasing demand for medicines across oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare disease, according to Soriot.
In addition to building up its oncology treatments like its flagship immunotherapy Imfinzi, AstraZeneca also plans to break into cell therapy. Currently, the sector is led by Novartis, Gilead and Bristol Myers Squibb.
AstraZeneca has approximately 17,800 employees working across 17 R&D, manufacturing and commercial sites spanning 12 states in the U.S, according to the Nov. 12 press release.
Yet the company’s wins aren’t without challenges. AstraZeneca's current and former employees are facing an investigation by Chinese authorities for allegedly committing medical insurance fraud, illegally importing unapproved cancer treatment drugs and improperly collecting patient data, according to its Q3 earnings report.
AstraZeneca China president and EVP of International Leon Wang and its former China oncology business chief Eva Yin were detained in China, according to the Oct. 30 press release.
“We take the matters in China very seriously. If requested we will fully cooperate with the authorities. We remain committed to delivering innovative life-changing medicines to patients in China,” the CEO said in a statement.
