The biotech is planning to expand antisense oligonucleotide capabilities and infrastructure on campuses that already produce drugs such as the ALS therapy Qalsody.
Biogen unveiled a $2 billion investment in North Carolina on Monday, joining the list of biopharma companies that have moved to beef up their U.S. manufacturing capabilities amid the ongoing threat of tariffs from President Donald Trump.
Multiple leading drugmakers committed to investing in U.S. manufacturing after Trump was elected for a second term and first began saying pharma-specific tariffs were coming. Most recently, Trump earlier this month threatened to impose tariffs of up to 200% on pharmaceutical imports but said companies will have at least one year to move to the U.S. Then he said such levies could come as soon as Aug. 1. Novartis and others have warned the process of reshoring manufacturing operations will take three to four years.
Of the Big Pharma U.S. manufacturing commitments made so far, North Carolina is among the main beneficiaries, with Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Regeneron and Roche all outlining plans to invest in the state. Biogen, which already has a big presence in the state, is on track to open its eighth plant in Research Triangle Park (RTP) there later this year. Looking beyond that milestone, Biogen plans to invest in multiple factories across its two campuses in RTP to expand its capabilities across a range of drug modalities over the next few years.
Biogen said it will expand its antisense oligonucleotide capabilities and infrastructure and establish multi-platform fill-finish capabilities at clinical and commercial scales. The biotech will also continue to modernize its manufacturing technologies and controls, including by investing in advanced automation and artificial intelligence.
Biogen said it has invested $10 billion to date in drug production in North Carolina, a state where it broke ground in 1995 and now employs 1,500 manufacturing and technical workers across two campuses. The investment tally includes $3 billion that the company said it has invested in recent years.
Biogen began construction of its eighth RTP facility in 2021. The company is investing an estimated $195 million in the new 197,000-square-foot facility. However, Biogen has warned there is no guarantee that the plant will be fully used after it opens later this year.
The facility was designed to produce gene therapies, create clinical packaging and perform other manufacturing tasks. After starting construction, Biogen refocused its investment in gene therapy. The pipeline prioritization led the company to start evaluating several alternative uses for the facility.
Biogen produces Avonex, Plegridy, Tysabri and Qalsody at its existing RTP facilities. The company makes Qalsody at an oligonucleotide synthesis manufacturing facility that is equipped to produce clinical and commercial batches. Spinraza is joining the list of products made at the oligonucleotide facility this year. On the other hand, the company produces Leqembi and Tysabri at its large-scale biologics facility in Switzerland, making the drugs potentially vulnerable to tariffs.
