AstraZeneca to invest $4.5B in Albemarle manufacturing plants

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday that global pharmaceutical manufacturer and biotech company AstraZeneca will invest $4.5 billion to establish two new manufacturing facilities in Albemarle County, with plans to create 600 jobs.

According to the governor’s office, the project, which the governor previously announced without many details in July, includes a new drug substance manufacturing facility focused on chronic diseases and a facility dedicated to antibody-drug conjugates focused on therapies for oncology indications. The project will be located at the Rivanna Futures Site located in the northern portion of the county.

The jobs created for the site include engineers, scientists and process facilitators. The $4.5 billion is part of AstraZeneca’s plan to invest $50 billion in the United States by 2030.  In August, a state official confirmed to Virginia Business that the company was eyeing Albemarle for a manufacturing project, but did not provide more specifics.

Youngkin said AstraZeneca’ investment in Albemarle is “the largest single manufacturing investment in the company’s history,” and described the move as “a game-changer” for American drug manufacturing.

“The investment is set to create 600 high-paying jobs in Albemarle County, strengthening America’s ability to produce life-saving medicines right here in Virginia,” Youngkin said in a statement. “It took just 33 days from our first conversation to partnering on this project — that’s moving at Virginia speed. “

Once completed, the manufacturing site will produce produce pharmaceutical substances for AstraZeneca’s weight management and metabolic portfolio, including oral GLP-1, baxdrostat, oral PCSK9 and combination small molecule products.

“With our $4.5 billion investment in Virginia, the largest in AstraZeneca’s history, we are not only building a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, but also driving life sciences innovation and economic growth,” said AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot in a statement.

The company previously said the Virginia site is expected to be operational by 2030.

Headquartered in Cambridge, England, AstraZeneca focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines in oncology, rare diseases and biopharmaceuticals, including cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, respiratory and immunology.

AstraZeneca’s largest market is the U.S., with the country being home to 19 R&D, manufacturing and commercial sites. The company employs about 90,000 workers worldwide, including more than 18,000 in the United States. It reported 2024 revenue of $54.073 billion.