Bayer pledges $2.2bn to US manufacturing facility
Illustration of Bayer's planned facility at New Albany International Business Park.
Bayer has joined the ranks of pharma multinationals planning major new facility investments in the US, revealing a plan to set up a manufacturing campus in Ohio that will serve both the US and international markets.
The $2.2 billion investment is earmarked for a new pharma manufacturing site in New Albany that will serve multiple functions. Along with drug substance and drug product manufacturing, Bayer also expects it to become part of "a new US-based collaboration ecosystem."
The German group said the new campus is its first major greenfield pharma production project in North America, and will take the form of a flexible, modular hub drawing on up-to-the-minute capabilities, including advanced digital and automation technologies.
It is the first new plant built by Bayer in the US since it ploughed $250 million into a cell therapy production facility at its Berkeley biotech hub in 2023, and it takes the total investment by the company in the US above $7 billion in the last five years.
"Bayer has long seen the US as a key manufacturing base and innovation hub. This landmark investment underscores our commitment," said Bayer chief executive Bill Anderson, who is in the throes of a major restructuring programme aimed at reducing Bayer's costs and improving its profitability.
"The new site will be home to manufacturing expertise and a skilled workforce that will strengthen our ability to deliver innovative, high-quality medicines to patients both in the US and abroad," he added.
Bayer joins a growing group of big pharma companies that have announced major capital investment programmes in the US in response to the threat of tariffs on imports of medicines made elsewhere by the Trump administration.
The company said it expects the facility at New Albany International Business Park to employ around 600 people when fully online, with another 1,500 jobs created during construction. When completed, it will support Bayer's oncology, cardiovascular, and renal care business units. The specific products that will be manufactured there has not yet been revealed.
The first module, dedicated to drug substance manufacturing, is expected to become operational in 2031, according to Bayer. A second module for drug product manufacturing is due to follow in 2034.
"This expansion is another important step to grow our pharmaceuticals business and to meet the demand of our customers and patients in the US, our fastest-growing pharmaceuticals market, and beyond," said Sebastian Guth, Bayer Pharma's global chief operating officer.
