By: IPP Bureau
Last updated : October 06, 2026 4:14 pm
The hub will grow AstraZeneca’s workforce in Massachusetts by over 50% and deliver next-generation medicines
AstraZeneca has officially inaugurated its latest global strategic research and development (R&D) centre in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. This state-of-the-art facility expands the company’s existing footprint in the Cambridge and Boston areas, positioning its scientific teams at the absolute center of one of the world's premier life sciences innovation hubs.
Alongside its genomic medicine facility at 100 Binney Street, the new AstraZeneca R&D Center in Kendall Square will house approximately 2,000 top-tier researchers. This hub is dedicated to advancing the company’s pipeline in oncology, cell therapy, chronic illness, and rare diseases to create next-generation, life-changing treatments.
AstraZeneca’s new 18-story R&D center at 290 Binney Street merges sustainable architecture with cutting-edge science. Spanning 570,000 square feet, the facility uses robotics, automation, and agentic AI across ten interconnected lab floors to streamline discovery. The site focuses on delivering pipeline therapies for critical conditions—including COPD, obesity, breast cancer, and rare diseases—while scaling cell therapies and biologics to drive company growth past 2030.
Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “Kendall Square is a leading innovation ecosystem, and it is one of the key locations where AstraZeneca will discover the next generation of scientific breakthroughs. Our new R&D centre not only reflects AstraZeneca’s long-term commitment to Massachusetts but also our belief in delivering US-led innovation to patients around the world.”
The opening of these laboratories marks a significant milestone in AstraZeneca’s more than 75-year history in Massachusetts. As part of its broader US investment of $50 billion, AstraZeneca is investing more than $1 billion in Massachusetts, which will directly expand its workforce in the state by over 50 per cent in the coming years and contribute billions in additional economic value and jobs across the Commonwealth.
Maura Healey, Governor of Massachusetts, said: “Massachusetts leads the world in life sciences because we bring together the best talent, institutions and ideas to solve hard problems and improve people’s lives. AstraZeneca’s more than $1 billion investment is a major vote of confidence in Massachusetts and the extraordinary talent we have here. We’re excited to see the future of medicine take shape in Kendall Square, and we’re grateful to AstraZeneca for continuing to grow its presence in our state. Massachusetts is a global leader in life sciences, and we’re going to keep competing for the investments, jobs and breakthroughs that will define the next generation of medicine.”
This new site adds to AstraZeneca’s existing R&D presence in more than 40 countries across the globe, including its other US-based global strategic research centre in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In the US, The AstraZeneca R&D Center Kendall Square joins the Company’s coast-to-coast footprint of 24 R&D, manufacturing, commercial and corporate sites. AstraZeneca’s US workforce exceeds more than 25,000 people and supports nearly 100,000 jobs overall across the country.