AbbVie has confirmed it will build a $1.4bn manufacturing campus in Durham County, North Carolina, to expand its US production network for sterile injectable medicines and other therapies.
The site, located on a 185-acre campus near Research Triangle Park, is intended to support the company’s long-term manufacturing requirements across areas including immunology, neuroscience and oncology.
According to AbbVie, the facility will include manufacturing, laboratory and support operations, and will be designed to produce small volume parenterals (SVPs), a category of sterile injectable medicines that require tightly controlled manufacturing environments.
Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with operations anticipated to start in 2028.
"Our investment in North Carolina represents a significant milestone for AbbVie as our largest capital investment to date and an important expansion of our manufacturing footprint into a new region of the United States," said Robert Michael, Chairman and CEO of AbbVie.
The company said the campus will incorporate advanced production technologies and digital systems intended to support manufacturing processes and quality control.
It will also serve as a US-based centre of production for certain therapies once operational.
The company described the Durham project as its largest single-site capital investment to date.
The development is expected to create 734 permanent jobs, along with additional construction roles during the build phase.
The investment forms part of AbbVie’s wider manufacturing expansion programme in the US.
Trend of increased US domestic production
AbbVie’s announcement comes amid a wider trend of pharmaceutical manufacturers increasing investment in domestic production capacity and large-scale, integrated manufacturing sites across the US.
Last month, Novartis, AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson each outlined major US manufacturing expansions focused on advanced therapies and clean production capabilities.
Novartis plans to develop a radioligand therapy manufacturing site in Texas, while Johnson & Johnson is investing $1bn in a next-generation cell therapy facility in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
AbbVie has also committed $380m to build two new active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing plants at its North Chicago campus.