Albemarle County | AstraZeneca investing $4.5B in new pharma facility

AstraZeneca is investing $4.5 billion in a new biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Albemarle County that will create 600 new jobs for the local economy.

The jobs are the kind that can transform a community – engineers, scientists.

“This investment is a transformative moment for Albemarle County,” said Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Chair Jim Andrews.

I swear I thought of using the word transform before I looked at the quote from Andrews.

The $4.5 billion injection into the local economy ain’t bad, either.

The new facility will be located in the Rivanna Futures site, which the county purchased for $58 million in 2023 to attract a compatible neighbor for Rivanna Station, a sub-installation of Fort Belvoir that is home to the National Ground Intelligence Center, Defense Intelligence Agency and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The AstraZeneca project “reflects the forward-thinking and commitment of our Board, staff, and partners who have worked to make Albemarle County ready for opportunity,” Andrews said.

“AstraZeneca will create well-paying jobs for our residents, bolster the biotechnology sector in our region, and generate ongoing revenue for our local schools, public safety, and community services. This is exactly the type of growth envisioned in our Economic Development Strategic Plan,” Andrews said.

The AstraZeneca facility will produce small molecules, peptides and oligonucleotides for the company’s weight management and metabolic portfolio, including oral GLP-1, baxdrostat, oral PCSK9 and combination small molecule products.

The company has expanded its scope to also include state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for its antibody drug conjugate cancer pipeline and portfolio.

The state is kicking in up to $191.3 million toward the project, provided that AstraZeneca meets development criteria.

“With our $4.5 billion investment in Virginia, the largest in AstraZeneca’s history, we are not only building a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, but also driving life sciences innovation and economic growth. This new facility will create thousands of jobs and strengthen America’s national security and health sovereignty,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said.