GSK invests $120 million in next-generation US biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility

Issued: London UK

GSK today announced a $120 million investment to expand its manufacturing facility in Upper Merion, Pennsylvania that will support the delivery of the company’s pipeline, bringing new medicines for cancer and other specialty diseases to patients faster. The investment at Upper Merion creates a technologically-advanced manufacturing hub that offers the flexibility and speed necessary when making today’s complex specialty medicines. 

Emma Walmsley, Chief Executive Officer, GSK said: “These investments will support and accelerate the transformation of our pipeline to deliver the next generation of medicines and vaccines for patients who need them. This also underscores GSK’s longstanding commitment to making innovative medicines and vaccines here in the US.”

By bringing together the R&D and manufacturing teams in one facility in Upper Merion, we now have an even more highly skilled workforce, the technological and scientific capabilities, and the infrastructure to research potential new genetic targets and seamlessly manufacture them into new medicines.  With R&D and manufacturing using the same equipment, data, and analytics, we are creating efficiencies that will significantly reduce the overall time to produce a new medicine.

The newly-outfitted manufacturing space is made to be more flexible than traditional pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment. Upper Merion uses emerging technologies in bioreactors, such as single-use and disposable components, which eliminates the need for complex retrofitting and sterilizing that is typical in most manufacturing plants. This simplifies and accelerates the process of changing from manufacturing one medicine to another medicine. A new analytical lab is also part of the facility, and the processes associated with quality and commercial testing have been streamlined to ensure medicines are ready for patient use as soon as possible.

Since 2017, GSK has invested close to $400 million dollars in US manufacturing capabilities across our vaccine and specialty portfolios, including today’s announcement. GSK has two significant R&D and manufacturing sites in Pennsylvania: Upper Merion and Upper Providence, employing approximately 3,500 people. In addition, GSK has its U.S. corporate headquarters at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard that employs more than 1,000 people.

The Upper Merion facility will initially be producing key pipeline assets. All products are currently in clinical trials and subject to clinical trial outcomes and regulatory approval.

About GSK 

GSK is a science-led global healthcare company with a special purpose: to help people do more, feel better, live longer. For further information please visit www.us.gsk.com

About GSK’s Upper Merion site

Upper Merion’s biopharma manufacturing site was constructed in 1996. The facility was designed to deliver products based in cell culture technologies. Over the past two decades, key GSK products like NUCALA have been manufactured at Upper Merion. In 2017, the company made the decision to utilize existing space at Upper Merion for the next-generation facility.

GSK enquiries:

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

GSK cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those described under Item 3.D Principal risks and uncertainties in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2018.