By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : November 22, 2025 10:42 am
The multibillion-dollar Maryland expansion is part of AstraZeneca’s sweeping $50 billion global investment plan
AstraZeneca will invest $2 billion to expand its expand its biologics manufacturing facility in Frederick and construct a new state-of-the-art facility in Gaithersburg for the development and clinical supply of drugs to be used in trials.
This investment marks the fourth in AstraZeneca‘s larger expansion plan, and will support 2,600 jobs across the two sites in Maryland, including the creation of 300 highly skilled jobs.
AstraZeneca’s Frederick biologics facility currently produces cancer, autoimmune, respiratory, and rare-disease treatments. The upgrade will almost double commercial manufacturing capacity and bring U.S. production of the company’s rare-disease medicines onshore for the first time. The site will add 200 high-skill positions, plus 900 construction jobs, and is slated to come online in 2029.
Simultaneously, AstraZeneca will break ground on a new Gaithersburg site designed to develop and supply next-generation molecules for clinical trials. Expected to be fully operational in 2029, the facility will create 100 new jobs, retain 400 existing roles, and generate another 1,000 construction jobs.
Both facilities will feature advanced AI, automation, and data-driven manufacturing systems and will be built to top environmental standards.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said the expansion deepens the company’s roots in the state and boosts access to lifesaving therapies. “This marks a landmark moment for Maryland and American patients,” he said. “We are bringing our extensive rare-disease portfolio onshore for the first time and strengthening the resilience of the U.S. medicines supply chain.”
The multibillion-dollar Maryland expansion is part of AstraZeneca’s sweeping $50 billion global investment plan announced in July and follows a string of U.S. build-outs in recent months, including a new cell-therapy plant in Rockville, a drug-substance facility in Virginia, and an expansion in Coppell, Texas.