US-based pharmaceutical production and development capacity is continuing to grow, with biotechnology company Amgen saying that it is set to invest $600 million in a science and innovation centre which will be located at its site in Thousand Oaks, California, US.
The centre will bring together researchers, engineers and scientists from across a range of disciplines to “accelerate the discovery of next-generation therapeutics for patients with the most serious diseases,” the company said. Building work is set to start before the end of 2025, leading to the creation of hundreds of jobs.
This development marks another significant investment for the company in less than a year. During April, Amgen said that it was set to expand its manufacturing facility, located in Ohio, at cost of $900 million, while at the end of 2024, the company said that it was putting up $1 billion to build a second ‘drug substance’ facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina.
Commenting on the latest investment, Robert Bradway, Chairman and CEO at Amgen. "This new center will empower our scientists with the tools and collaborative environment they need to shape the next era of scientific discovery and advance medicines that improve human health."
Also making good on investment plans in California, Gilead Sciences broke ground on its Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing (PDM) Technical Development Center (NTDC) at its Foster City headquarters. This development is part of the company’s planned $32 billion investment in US innovation through to 2030.
“This investment is projected to generate more than $43 billion in economic value nationwide, strengthening America’s biopharmaceutical leadership while fueling high-quality jobs, research, and domestic manufacturing,” the company said.
Gilead Sciences added that the facility will serve as a hub for innovation and collaboration across technical development and manufacturing teams, and “feature digitally enabled systems, autonomous robotics, and real-time digital monitoring, making it one of the most AI-enabled centers in the biopharma industry.”
In addition to the NTDC, Gilead Sciences is currently developing two other facilities: a research building designed to accelerate scientific discovery, and a biologics manufacturing facility that will expand domestic production capacity.
Construction work has also started on Genentech’s Holly Springs, North Carolina, manufacturing facility, which will be used to support the production of next-generation metabolic medicines, including treatments for obesity. Genentech, which is a part of the Roche Group, said that the $700 million funding for the project is part of Roche’s wider £50 billion investment in US manufacturing and R&D. Due to become operational during 2029, the facility will lead to the creation of more than 1900 jobs.
US tariffs have played a significant role in spurring pharma investment in the US. According to a commentary, released in July, by Sector Economist TMT & Healthcare, Diederik Stadig, at ING: "The threat of tariffs has caused branded pharma companies to commit to more than $250bn in US investment over the next few years."
During August the EU and US released a Joint Framework Agreement setting out a maximum, all-inclusive 15% tariff ceiling for EU products subject to reciprocal tariffs. This included a commitment from the US to ensure that EU exports of pharmaceuticals are included in the 15% tariff ceiling. The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) estimates that the cost of 15% tariffs on pharmaceutical exports to the US equates to some €18 billion.
Commenting, Natalie Moll, Director EFPIA said: “With a potential 15% US tariff on pharmaceuticals, no clear path for exemptions for innovative medicines and no visibility on future trade and pricing policies, we remain concerned for the future of patients and out sector in Europe.”
Moll added: “Adding barriers to highly functioning and complex supply chains is not a route to national resilience, increased manufacturing or better patient care. They impact our ability to collaborate on discovering new treatments to tackle global health challenges, with billions of Euros diverted away from medical health research. We need real solutions to level up pharmaceutical investment in research, development and manufacturing, re-balance trade and ensure fair distribution of how global pharmaceutical innovation is financed and valued.”
Further reading
• AstraZeneca plans $50 billion medicines manufacturing investment for US
• Life Sciences leadership: The UK and the EU set out plans for sector growth and investment
• Entos Pharmaceuticals plans major Canadian biomanufacturing and R&D facility
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