AstraZeneca manufacturing facility coming to Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company, has announced its plans to bring a drug substance manufacturing facility to Virginia.

According to an announcement by the company on Monday, July 21, AstraZeneca plans to build a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing facility to make drugs used for weight management and metabolic health, including oral GLP-1, baxdrosat, oral PCSK9 and other products.

The facility is planned to be located in Virginia, but the exact location has not yet been announced. It will reportedly be AstraZeneca's largest single manufacturing investment in the world, and will use AI, automation and data analytics in production.

Governor Glenn Youngkin applauded the announcement on Monday, including the facility's expected creation of hundreds of jobs.

"I want to thank AstraZeneca for choosing Virginia as the cornerstone for this transformational investment in the United States,” Youngkin said. “This project will set the standard for the latest technological advancements in pharmaceutical manufacturing, creating hundreds of highly skilled jobs and helping further strengthen the nation's domestic supply chain. Advanced manufacturing is at the heart of Virginia's dynamic economy, so I am thrilled that AstraZeneca, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, plans to make their largest global manufacturing investment here in the Commonwealth.”