AbbVie's $1.4bn North Carolina Manufacturing Investment
AbbVie has announced it is investing US$1.4bn in a 185 acre pharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Durham, North Carolina, US.
The company says that the campus will integrate advanced manufacturing and laboratory technologies as well as AI to support production of immunology, neuroscience and oncology medicines.
AbbVie expects the campus to create 734 jobs, including engineers, scientists, manufacturing operators and laboratory technicians.
AbbVie's manufacturing campus
The first phase of construction will include small volume parenteral drug product manufacturing facilities, “next-generation” laboratories, a warehouse, administrative offices and employee wellness facilities.
Small volume parenterals are sterile injectable pharmaceutical products with volumes typically less than 100 ml, including vials, prefilled cartridges and prefilled syringes containing medicines for injection or infusion.
The investment is the company’s largest capital investment to date. Robert A. Michael, Chairman and CEO of AbbVie, says: "Our investment in North Carolina represents a significant milestone for AbbVie as our largest capital investment to date and an important expansion of our manufacturing footprint into a new region of the United States.
"By establishing this campus, we are strengthening our ability to support future medical breakthroughs while also creating new jobs and a long-term partnership with Durham and the State of North Carolina."
North Carolina manufacturing
This campus is AbbVie’s first major investment in North Carolina.
Other US companies who have invested heavily in North Carolina recently include Siemens, which recently completed construction of a train manufacturing and rail services facility in Lexington, and Toyota, which held an opening ceremony for a battery manufacturing facility in 2025.
AbbVie’s new campus is located near North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. The company says the site location was selected due to the strength of the region’s workforce and its ability to support future expansion.
Governor of North Carolina Josh Stein says: "We welcome AbbVie's major investment to North Carolina.
"When you combine our world-renowned research and innovation with a strong, thriving life sciences hub, North Carolina quickly becomes the premier location for biopharmaceutical companies to do business."
This project is part of the Company's US$100bn commitment to US R&D and capital investments, including manufacturing, over the next decade. AbbVie currently employs approximately 29,000 people in the US, including over 6,000 at its manufacturing campuses.
Manufacturing pharmaceuticals
AbbVie says its North Carolina site will use AI to support production of immunology, neuroscience and oncology medicines, integrating advanced manufacturing and laboratory technologies.
Data from McKinsey says that the biopharmaceutical industry has an annual growth rate of roughly 6%, and a 2025 report suggests that existing production capacities are struggling to meet demand.
Biopharmaceutical manufacturing is often a sophisticated, variable and fragile process. Manufacturing sequences involve multiple steps with complex interactions and interdependencies across end-to-end processes.
McKinsey’s report says that AI and advanced analytics could be a “shot in the arm” for the sector, which could help sites optimise existing resources and enhance throughput to meet the rising demand for large molecules.
