Giant pharmaceutical firm Merck is expanding its Shenandoah Valley operation with a $3 billion investment in a new Elkton plant that promises to generate 500 jobs.
The plant will serve as Merck’s “center of excellence” for making pharmaceutical ingredients and small molecules.
The announcement of Merck’s expansion follows the news that AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly & Co. will build large plants in Virginia, furthering Virginia’s push to be a major hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Merck currently employs 1,200 people at the Elkton plant, which it started in 1941.
“This investment will help advance our goal of providing new, innovative treatment options for people facing serious health challenges in the U.S. and around the world,” Merck Chairman and CEO Robert Davis said in a statement.
Merck had previously said it was planning a $2 billion expansion in Elkton. Its decision to increase its investment is part of a more-than-$70-billion plan to expand domestic manufacturing and research and development.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin approved a performance-based grant of $5 million from the Virginia Investment Performance grant to support the expansion. In addition, he approved a $4 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund, which aims to help Rockingham County with the project.
“Merck’s transformational $3 billion commitment to locate its Center of Excellence marks a giant leap forward for both America’s and Virginia’s life sciences sector,” Youngkin said in a statement.
Earlier this month, AstraZeneca said it will invest $4.5 billion to establish two new manufacturing facilities in Albemarle County, generating 600 jobs. One plant will focus on medication for chronic diseases and the other on antibody drug conjugates focused on therapies for oncology indications.
Last month, drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. said it intends to build a $5 billion manufacturing site in Goochland County, That facility, on a 227-acre site in the West Creek Business Park, promises to create 650 jobs for engineers, scientists and other staffers.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com