AbbVie to Invest $380M in Illinois Operations
Pharmaceutical company AbbVie announced a $380 million investment to expand its manufacturing facilities in Illinois. The expansion will focus on the production of medications for neuroscience and obesity. This investment underscores the economic strength of the state's life sciences sector.
- The investment will be used to construct two new facilities for manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) at AbbVie's existing campus in North Chicago. - This project is expected to create 300 new full-time jobs in the Chicagoland area, including positions for engineers, scientists, manufacturing operators, and lab technicians. - Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2026, with the new facilities expected to be fully operational by 2029. - This $380 million is part of a larger trend of investment for the company in the area; over the past six months, AbbVie has announced a total of $575 million for its North Chicago operations. - The new facilities will incorporate advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, to support the production of next-generation medicines. - This expansion is part of a $100 billion commitment by AbbVie to U.S. research and development and capital investments over the next decade, according to Chairman and CEO Robert A. Michael. - Illinois' life sciences sector has seen a 7.5% growth in employment since 2019, a rate 20 times faster than the overall private sector in the state. - The state's life sciences industry, which employs nearly 93,402 people at an average salary of $153,000, ranks 4th in the nation for venture capital investment, attracting $11.1 billion between 2019 and 2023.
