Project Bulletin: February 12, 2024

AstraZeneca’s Rockville site will focus specifically on development of T-cell therapies.

Photo courtesy of AstraZeneca

With a goal of advancing critical cancer trials and increasing future supply capacity, AstraZeneca is investing $300 million in Rockville, Maryland. This location will join the company’s global portfolio of over 30 manufacturing sites in 16 countries, and like all of AstraZeneca’s U.S. locations, will have a specific focus on small molecules and biologics. “We are incredibly excited that more than 150 new highly skilled jobs are being created to bring our scientific work and therapies to clinical trials which could transform the lives of patients around the world,” said AstraZeneca Global Operations and IT Executive Vice President Pam Cheng. “This new $300 million investment will accelerate our ambition to make next-generation cell therapy a reality, ensuring that we are ready to scale and meet the demands of patients.” The company’s longstanding campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland, employs 3,500 and involves around $1 billion annually in R&D investment.

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Toyota has operated in Georgetown, Kentucky, since 1988.

Photo courtesy of Toyota

Last week, Toyota announced a final investment decision for its flagship Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) plant located in Georgetown. The company will move forward with $1.3 billion to expand EV and EV battery manufacturing, an over $700 million increase from Toyota’s original May 2023 investment announcement. It is here that the company will produce a new EV SUV model, in addition to a new battery pack assembly line, which will use batteries provided by Toyota’s new North Carolina facility. TMMK was Toyota’s first and largest production facility in the U.S. This project aims to accelerate the company’s 2025 global electrification strategy.

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AGC’s Kitakyushu facility will join the company’s other Japan locations in Chiba and Kashima.

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Global manufacturer of glass, chemicals and high-tech materials AGC Inc., based in Exton, Pennsylvania, announced a $113.5 million investment in Kitakyushu, Japan. This project marks the company’s first steps toward operating in the city since it discontinued production of sodium bicarbonate in 2002. The new investment aims to meet rising global demand for green hydrogen and will focus on production of AGC’s FORBLUE™ S-SERIES, which is fluorinated ion-exchange membranes suitable for green hydrogen production. The project is expected to become operational in 2026 and will become AGC’s third location in Japan, after sites in Chiba and Kashima. The project is not to be confused with another new Japanese project from Seattle-based CDMO AGC Biologics, which in early January committed to a new $350 million, 400-job manufacturing site in Yokohama.

Reports compiled and written by Alexis Elmore, edited by Adam Bruns