Dive Brief:
- Bayer will invest $2.2 billion to build a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in New Albany, Ohio, with a plan to make drugs for oncology, cardiovascular and renal care, the Germany-based company said Friday.
- Bayer plans to develop a “flexible, modular campus” that combines drug substance and drug product manufacturing and leverages advanced digital and automation technologies, according to a news release. The site is expected to create 600 jobs.
- The first module, designed for drug substances, is scheduled to be ready in 2031, and the second module for drug products will follow in 2034, Bayer said. No construction date was disclosed, but more than 1,500 jobs are expected to support the project.
Dive Insight:
The manufacturing site coming to New Albany is part of Bayer’s U.S. growth strategy. The biotechnology giant has spent more than $7 billion over the past five years expanding its U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing and research and development operations.
“The facility will be a strong strategic addition to our global Product Supply Network,” Holger Weintritt, head of product supply at Bayer’s pharmaceutical division, said in a statement. “As we continue to invest in our existing manufacturing sites around the globe, our planned presence in Ohio will further enhance our ability to serve our markets with greater resilience and reliability.”
A spokesperson with Bayer did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about the size of the New Albany facility, construction timeline or incentives the project may be eligible for.
JobsOhio, a private, nonprofit economic development entity created by the state to foster corporate investment deals, said Bayer is looking to acquire a job creation tax credit from the Ohio Department of Development and JobsOhio assistance for the project. The company plans to make the details public at a later date.
Ohio beat out several states for Bayer’s project, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said in a statement. Proximity to a growing biomanufacturing industry in the Columbus, Ohio, region as well as workforce readiness were key to the state’s appeal. Bayer plans to use the Ohio Life Science Training Center, which is under construction and set to open next summer, to train people for operator and technician roles at the plant.
The investment comes as the Trump administration looks to bolster domestic manufacturing and reshore production across industries through a mix of tariffs and major investment deal promotion.
Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies have pledged tens of billions of dollars toward manufacturing expansions and research and development, according to an investment database on the White House’s website.
Bayer said the New Albany site will complement its U.S. pharmaceuticals headquarters in Whippany, New Jersey, as well as operations in Pittsburgh; Berkeley, California; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Durham, North Carolina; and San Diego, California.
Last year, Bayer completed a 70,000-square-foot expansion to its largest over-the-counter drug facility in Myerstown, Pennsylvania, as part of a $44 million investment. It also invested $250 million on a cell therapy production plant that opened in Berkeley in 2023.
