UCB has chosen Georgia as the home for its new biologics manufacturing facility, cementing its legacy in the state and marking the company’s latest expansion effort in the key US market.
The $2bn, 460,000 ft², digital-first site, located in Gwinnett County’s Rowen Development, will be the “cornerstone” of UCB’s global biologics manufacturing infrastructure – operating 24/7 once in action to supply the US market.
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When the facility is up and running, it will employ around 330 skilled staff, while generating an estimated $5bn for Georgia’s economy. To boost efficiency, UCB will incorporate automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics into the site’s infrastructure.
Though UCB has not provided specific details on what it will manufacture at the site, UCB’s US head, Taco van Tiel, noted that the Gwinnett County facility will aid in the commercial production of “recently approved and future pipeline medicines”, which include three novel investigational and five marketed biologics.
Currently, UCB’s best-selling biologic is its interleukin-17 inhibitor, Bimzelx (bimekizumab), which pulled in sales of €2.23bn ($2.58bn) in 2025. With GlobalData, parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, forecasting that Bimzelx will bring in $7.5bn in sales in 2031, of which 80% will be US-based, it is logical that the company would enhance manufacturing capacity and presence in this market.
The state of Georgia is also familiar turf for UCB, as the company has situated its US headquarters in Smyrna, a suburb of the state’s capital, Atlanta, for more than thirty years. Rowen Development, which sits 35 miles away from Atlanta, is also located near over 50 academic institutions – including Emory and the University of Georgia.
UCB’s CEO, Jean-Christophe Tellier believes that Georgia is the right place for the company to continue its US expansion due to the state’s strong talent base, ecosystem and the state’s manufacturing legacy.
UCB’s $2bn expansion comes amid a period of notable US growth for the company, as the company has bolstered its American workforce by 73% since 2017. The Belgian pharma currently employs nearly 2,000 people on American soil.
Pharma’s US onshoring efforts continue
UCB is not the only pharma company to make an expansion move in the US, as several big pharma companies are pledging billions of dollars into their manufacturing infrastructure in the country.
This comes as the Trump administration is actively encouraging drugmakers to onshore their production, partially by imposing 100% tariffs on branded pharmaceutical imports from those who do not.
Amid this shift in manufacturing location, several up-and-coming or established manufacturing hubs are emerging around the US. Previously, biotech executives, investors and trade organisations told Pharmaceutical Technology that Virginia and North Carolina are garnering attention as rising stars, while Massachusetts remained a popular state for companies in the field.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania has also proven a desirable location for some big pharma companies, with both Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson choosing the state as a location for some of their most recently announced manufacturing builds.
In a bid to streamline the development of US manufacturing facilities, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has debuted the PreCheck scheme, which the agency hopes will reduce America’s reliance on pharmaceutical imports.
