Bayer to invest US$2.2B in new manufacturing site in Ohio

USA—Bayer will invest US$2.2 billion in a new pharmaceutical manufacturing site in New Albany, Ohio, the company announced on October 2, as it expands its U.S. manufacturing capacity.

The German healthcare group said the project forms part of a multi-year strategy to grow its pharmaceutical business and strengthen supply chain capacity in its largest pharmaceutical market.

Modular manufacturing campus

The planned campus at the New Albany International Business Park will use a flexible, modular design combining drug substance and drug product manufacturing with digital and automation technologies.

Bayer expects the first module, focused on drug substance production, to become operational in 2031, followed by a drug product manufacturing module in 2034.

The site will initially support Bayer’s oncology, cardiovascular and renal portfolios.

The project is expected to generate about 1,500 construction jobs during development and approximately 600 permanent positions once operational.

Bayer plans to purchase about 200 acres for the facility and expects construction to begin around mid-2027.

Sebastian Guth, global chief operating officer of Bayer Pharmaceuticals and president of Bayer U.S., said the investment reflects a strategy that began in late 2018 and early 2019, rather than a response to recent U.S. trade policy.

Guth said U.S. sales accounted for about 20% of Bayer’s pharmaceutical revenue when he moved to the country, compared with about 35% today.

Annual U.S. pharmaceutical R&D spending has also increased from less than US$500 million to more than US$1.2 billion, he said.

Expanding the U.S. footprint

Guth said the company has also sought to align its manufacturing capacity with the growth of its U.S. business.

The new site will complement Bayer’s U.S. pharmaceutical headquarters in Whippany, New Jersey, and facilities in Pittsburgh, Berkeley, Cambridge, Research Triangle Park and San Diego.

Bayer selected New Albany after what Guth described as a comprehensive site-selection process.

He cited the area’s talent base, proximity to seven academic centers and universities, and developing life sciences ecosystem as factors in the decision.

The investment builds on more than US$7 billion that Bayer says it has committed to U.S. pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing over the past five years.

The company has expanded its U.S. pharmaceutical business through oncology, including prostate cancer treatment Nubeqa, cardiovascular and renal medicine such as Kerendia, and women’s health products including Lynkuet.

It is also developing asundexian, an oral factor XIa inhibitor, for potential use in stroke prevention.

Policy backdrop

Bayer’s announcement comes as pharmaceutical companies continue to expand U.S. manufacturing amid changes to tariffs and drug pricing policy.

However, Guth said the company’s investment was not directly linked to those policy changes.

Bayer is not among the 26 drugmakers that have reached most-favoured-nation pricing agreements with the Trump administration.

The agreements involve pricing commitments and, according to the administration, U.S. manufacturing investments, while participating companies have received measures intended to reduce exposure to pharmaceutical tariffs.

Bayer’s Ohio project therefore adds another large-scale manufacturing commitment to its existing U.S. investment program while extending production capacity for medicines targeting several major therapeutic areas.

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