AbbVie makes record investment in North Carolina plant
AbbVie's programme of facility announcements in the US has continued with a new 185-acre campus in Durham, North Carolina, which is its largest capital investment to date.
The $1.4 billion project is the latest revelation in the pharma group's $100 billion programme of manufacturing and R&D investment plan over the next decade, announced as part of a deal with the US government, designed to avoid tariffs, that also saw it sign up to the administration's Most Favoured Nation (MFN) drug pricing plan.
Construction of the new campus will start later this year, and is due to be completed in 2028, by which time around 734 jobs will have been created to support the production of AbbVie's immunology, neuroscience and oncology medicines, including engineers, scientists, manufacturing operators and laboratory technicians.
The company also estimates that around 2,000 construction jobs will be created during the development of the campus, which is its first site in North Carolina. The first phase of construction will focus on small volume parenteral (SVP) drug product manufacturing plants, along with lab space, a warehouse, administrative offices, and employee wellness facilities.
"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 US," said AbbVie's chairman and chief executive, Robert Michael.
The Durham site will be the flagship site for the production of SVPs, which are sterile injectables – typically with volumes less than 100 mL – such as vials, prefilled cartridges, and prefilled syringes.
AbbVie was one of the last companies to announce a deal among 17 pharma groups that were singled out by President Trump in letters ordering them to offer MFN pricing for Medicaid or face tariffs on drugs imported into the US of up to 100%. The company indicated its willingness to reach an agreement soon after, but did not finalise terms until January 2026.
The deal follows similar lines to those of its peers, and like them includes the provision of cut-price medicines through Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) sales channels, including the recently launched TrumpRx platform.
Other capital projects in the US that AbbVie has announced in recent months include a $380 million plan to build two active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facilities in North Chicago, Illinois, for its neuroscience in obesity medicines, a $70 million expansion of a biologics production unit in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a $175 million deal to acquire and upgrade a drug delivery device plan in Tempe, Arizona, for immunology and neuroscience drugs.
