AbbVie’s $100 billion splurge on domestic manufacturing and R&D is continuing to come into focus, this time with a $380 million investment in two new active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing facilities that will augment its campus in North Chicago, Illinois.
The pair of new facilities will be powered by advanced manufacturing technologies with artificial intelligence, supporting the future production of AbbVie’s next-generation neuroscience and obesity medications, the company said in a Monday press release. Construction is set to begin during the spring of this year, with both plants expected to be fully operational in 2029.
AbbVie will staff its new digs with 300 fresh hires and says it specifically aims to recruit engineers, scientists, manufacturing operators and lab technicians in North Chicago. The company currently employs more than 11,500 workers in its home state of Illinois, with a total U.S. workforce of about 29,000 people.
"This milestone demonstrates further progress against our $100 billion commitment to U.S. R&D and capital investments over the next decade," CEO Robert Michael said in a statement. “By strengthening our U.S. manufacturing capabilities, we are well-positioned to support our investment in innovation and enhance our ability to deliver next-generation medicines to patients."
In September, AbbVie entered the first phase of its plan to bolster U.S. API capacity, breaking ground on a new chemical synthesis facility in North Chicago. The $195 million plant should help return API production for “select neuroscience, immunology and oncology products” from Europe and Asia to the U.S., the company said in its latest investment announcement.
Last April, AbbVie pledged to invest $10 billion in its U.S. operations over the next 10 years, with a portion of that sum earmarked for four new U.S. production facilities focused on API, drug product, peptide and device manufacturing.
Since then, the Chicago drugmaker has kicked its domestic investment push into high gear, pledging in January to spend a whopping $100 billion on U.S. R&D and capital investments over the next decade.
AbbVie's announcement came as it inked a so-called most-favored-nation drug pricing deal with the White House, which included a commitment to sell certain medicines through the government's direct-to-patient drug purchasing portal TrumpRx.gov.
AbbVie’s U.S. investment blitz is part of a broader industry trend that began last year as major drugmakers sought to counter the Trump administration's tariff threats with domestic manufacturing commitments.
Outside of its recent spend on new API facilities, AbbVie is making additional progress on the U.S. manufacturing front with a $70 million expansion of its bioresearch center in Worcester, Massachusetts, and plans to purchase an Arizona drug device plant from West Pharmaceutical Services in January. AbbVie said last month that it expects to spend more than $175 million to acquire, modernize and integrate the device facility into its production network.
Even with all those manufacturing irons in the fire, AbbVie says there's still more to come this year.
The company said Monday that it expects to announce additional investments in 2026, noting that it's in talks with “multiple U.S. states” on potential production projects.