Amgen to invest $600 million in new R&D facility in California

Amgen on Tuesday said it will spend more than $600 million to build a new research and development facility at its headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California, the latest in a string of new U.S. investments by the pharmaceutical industry. 

Drugmakers have been scrambling to boost their presence in the U.S. as President Donald Trump threatens to clamp down on the industry with tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the country. Trump has said those levies will incentivize companies to re-shore production at a time when domestic drug manufacturing has shrunk dramatically over the past decade. 

In a release, Amgen said construction of the facility will begin in the third quarter of this year and will create hundreds of U.S. jobs. 

Notably, the facility is not a manufacturing plant, but it will allow researchers, engineers and scientists to collaborate on finding next-generation drugs for patients with “the most serious diseases,” according to the company. Amgen said the building features “advanced automation and digital capabilities,” which will give scientists the necessary tools for that research and development. 

“At Amgen, we’re continuing to invest in the future of American science and innovation,” CEO Bob Bradway said in the release. “The center will empower our scientists with the tools and collaborative environment they need to shape the next era of scientific discovery and advance medicines that improve human health.”

Amgen said that since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, it has invested almost $5 billion in direct U.S. capital expenditures. In April, the company announced a $900 million expansion of its Ohio biotech manufacturing facility. In December, the drugmaker announced it would spend $1 billion to build a second drug substance plant in Holly Springs, North Carolina.

Those investments come after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August launched a program that aims to make it easier for companies to set up new drug manufacturing plants in the U.S. The White House estimates it can currently take five to 10 years to build new manufacturing capacity for pharmaceuticals, which it previously called “unacceptable from a national-security standpoint.”