(Reuters) -Merck said on Monday it has begun construction of a $3 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Elkton, Virginia as part of its more than $70 billion investment to expand domestic manufacturing and research and development in the U.S.
The U.S. drugmaker said it plans to invest an additional $3 billion in biologics and small molecule manufacturing sites and capabilities in the U.S., while also investing more than $3.5 billion at its headquarters in Rahway, N.J.
Global drugmakers have been scrambling to shore up their U.S. manufacturing capacities and domestic inventories after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on imports of branded and patented drugs.
Merck had previously said it will invest $1 billion in a new Delaware plant to make biologics and cancer drug Keytruda, to boost U.S. production and potentially create over 4,500 jobs. It also opened a $1-billion facility at its North Carolina site in March.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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