AstraZeneca unveils new facility as part of multibillion-dollar investment in US manufacturing

AstraZeneca, as part of its ongoing $3.5 billion investment in American innovation, opened its first U.S.-operated cell therapy manufacturing facility in Maryland to help treat cancer patients.

The U.K-based pharmaceutical giant said the new $300 million facility in Rockville symbolizes its confidence in America’s role as a “global leader in science, manufacturing and economic growth.”

“We understand the importance of doing what we do because lives and health are at stake,” Pam Cheng, executive vice president of global operations at AstraZeneca, said at the facility’s official opening on Monday. “We chose to do this in the state of Maryland because we believe in its incredible talent, its scientific leadership and the spirit of collaboration.”

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Once in operation, the site will use a relatively new cancer treatment called CAR-T cell therapy to help treat blood cancers like lymphoma and leukemia.

Andrew Gordon, a cancer survivor who was diagnosed in 2013 with multiple myeloma, said he used CAR-T cell therapy to fight the disease after he relapsed.

“This is truly the cutting edge of cancer research,” Gordon said. “As patients, we are just so grateful to AstraZeneca for the work that they are going to be doing here.” 

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The opening of the new facility comes amidst comments made in recent weeks by AstraZeneca’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, about investing in America. He said that the U.S., compared to other areas like Europe, could be more attractive for pharmaceutical companies to invest in due to its heavy spending on health care, according to Reuters.

“Europe spends a substantially lower share of GDP on innovative medicines than the U.S. and, as a result, is falling behind in attracting [research and development] and manufacturing investments, putting its ability to protect the health of its own people at risk,” Soriot said in a statement.

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President Donald Trump has pushed for greater American innovation – recently touting a trillion-dollar spike in U.S. investment, including from companies like Toyota, Amazon, Johnson & Johnson and more. In a list released by the White House of Trump’s wins during the first 100 days of his second term, it acknowledged AstraZeneca’s growing investment in American manufacturing.

The pharmaceutical company’s $3.5 billion investment in U.S. research and manufacturing was first announced in November. It also includes a research and development center in Massachusetts, specialty manufacturing in Texas, a next-generation manufacturing facility for biologics in Maryland, and more, according to the drugmaker.

While AstraZeneca’s U.S. operations currently generate around 43% of its global revenue, the company hopes that by 2030, the U.S. will represent half of its global revenue.

“With 4,200 American employees and over 9 billion doses produced annually across our U.S. manufacturing network, we believe the future of advanced medicine should be built – and led – from right here at home,” AstraZeneca wrote in a statement.