Following outlays for sites in the UK and Belgium earlier this year, GSK is planning to invest up to $800m in the US to double the size and capacity of its site in Marietta, Pennsylvania.

The funding, which brings GSK’s expenditure in US manufacturing capabilities close to $1.3bn, will establish a new vaccines drug substance facility and an R&D pilot plant. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro confirmed it is GSK’s largest-ever single manufacturing investment in the country, as per a 24 October press release.

The construction of the new facilities is slated to start by the end of this year, with the UK drugmaker aiming to finish the drug substance facility by the end of 2027, and the drug product facility becoming operational by the end of 2028. The former facility will manufacture products based on Multiple Antigen Presenting System (MAPS) technology, whilst the latter will make medicines for clinical trials.

The expansion will create over 200 new jobs and supply sterile liquid vaccines and medicines for which GSK said there is an “ever-increasing demand”. As for the site’s carbon footprint, buildings will incorporate solar panels, electric heat generation, and water and energy reclamation. GSK has previously said it has a clear pathway to net zero and aims to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2030.

GSK will also implement the latest technology to streamline workflows, including digital twins, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered processes. Both facilities will have smart utility and electrical system monitoring.

GSK’s global supply chain president Regis Simard said: “This landmark investment will establish Marietta as an innovation and manufacturing hub capable of delivering next generation medicines and vaccines to people around the world.

As the pharmaceutical company embarks on its largest manufacturing bid across the pond, GSK has strengthened supply chains closer to home this year. The company outlaid nearly $260m for its UK sites in January, with money going to constructing new facilities and bolstering assembly lines.

Earlier in 2023, GSK also pledged more than $270m to build a new vaccine facility at its existing Wavre campus in Belgium. The investment coincided with the launch of the company’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, Arexvy.

GSK isn’t the only pharma company to recently invest resources in Pennsylvania, with CDMO Nucleus RadioPharma announcing upgrades to its site in Springhouse this week. The expansion will create around 50 new jobs in the area. MSD has the biggest pharmaceutical footprint in the state, with West Point home to its largest manufacturing facility in the US.

GSK’s fellow UK-headquartered drugmaker AstraZeneca meanwhile is considering relocating its manufacturing facilities from the UK to the US, amidst potential cuts to state funding from the Labour government.