AstraZeneca plans to invest $3.5 billion by the end of 2026 to expand its research and manufacturing operations across the United States.
The United Kingdom-based pharmaceutical giant said Tuesday its capital commitment to the expansion includes $2 billion in new investment.
“By expanding our R&D and manufacturing footprint, we aim to enhance the development of cutting-edge therapies and support the United States leadership in healthcare innovation,” AstraZeneca’s CEO Pascal Soriot said in a statement.
The company's plan to expand comes as demand in the U.S. for life science space, including lab, research and development, and other biotech facilities, shows signs of increasing. The sector had surged early in the pandemic then slowed dramatically as capital markets tightened and venture capitalists looked elsewhere to make investments.
With the recent addition of 3 million square feet of life science space to the sublease market, the sector's overall availability is 30% and rents are down 9%, according to JLL's recently released 2024 Life Sciences Real Estate Perspective and Cluster Analysis.
The company said its expansion plans include an R&D facility at Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts; a biologics manufacturing facility in Maryland; and properties involved in cell therapy manufacturing on the West and East coasts and specialty manufacturing in Texas.
AstraZeneca's exact plans, including how much commercial property it would add, have not been disclosed in detail. In February, the company said it would invest $300 million in a manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland. It is expected to be operating by 2026.
AstraZeneca has said there is increased demand for its medicines across its work in oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare diseases, driving a financial growth trajectory.
The move is the first step to achieving $80 billion in total revenue by 2030, it added. The company’s global media relations team did not immediately respond to CoStar News' email request for comment.
The investment would add more than 1,000 jobs to the roughly 17,800 employees currently working across 17 research and development, manufacturing and commercial sites in 12 states, according to the firm.
Details on the healthcare property investment came the same day the company said its third-quarter total revenue grew 21% and core earnings per share were up 27% from the prior-year period.
“Growth looks set to continue through 2025,” the company said.