AbbVie to create 300 new jobs with $380m Illinois manufacturing investment

AbbVie has announced a $380m investment to build two new active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facilities at its North Chicago campus, expanding U.S. production capacity for next-generation medicines and creating around 300 new jobs.

The new facilities will support production of AbbVie’s future neuroscience and obesity treatments, integrating advanced manufacturing technologies and artificial intelligence into API production processes. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2026, with both plants expected to be operational by 2029.

AbbVie CEO Robert A. Michael said the project reflects the company’s long-term commitment to U.S. manufacturing.

“This milestone demonstrates further progress against our $100bn commitment to U.S. R&D and capital investments over the next decade,” he said. “By strengthening our U.S. manufacturing capabilities, we are well-positioned to support our investment in innovation and enhance our ability to deliver next-generation medicines to patients.”

API manufacturing involves producing the active components responsible for a drug’s therapeutic effects, a complex multi-step process often outsourced globally. AbbVie has spent the past six months outlining plans to expand API capacity in the United States.

In September 2025, the company broke ground on a chemical synthesis facility intended to bring production of selected neuroscience, immunology and oncology APIs back from Europe and Asia to the U.S.

The latest investment is expected to support approximately 300 new roles in North Chicago, including engineers, scientists, manufacturing operators and laboratory technicians.

AbbVie employs around 29,000 people across the United States, including more than 6,000 at its domestic manufacturing sites and over 11,500 in Illinois. The North Chicago expansion reinforces the company’s long-standing presence in the state, where it is headquartered.

The investment also forms part of a wider U.S. manufacturing push. AbbVie recently announced plans to acquire a device manufacturing facility in Arizona and expand operations in Massachusetts, and said it is in talks with several states about additional projects expected to be announced in 2026.

AbbVie’s move reflects a wider trend across North American pharmaceutical manufacturing, where companies are investing in domestic API production to improve supply-chain resilience, meet regulatory expectations, and take advantage of government incentives.

As demand rises for obesity and neuroscience treatments, increased U.S. API capacity could play a key role in ensuring reliable supply while accelerating the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies.

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AbbVie to invest $380 million to expand US manufacturing in Illinois

Feb 23 (Reuters) – AbbVie on Monday said it would invest $380 million to build two new active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing facilities at its Illinois campus, expanding its domestic production capacity for its neuroscience and obesity medicines.

The investment is part of AbbVie’s broader effort to scale up domestic manufacturing, as drugmakers are scrambling to shore up their U.S. manufacturing capacity and domestic inventory amid the Trump administration’s hefty tariffs on pharmaceutical imports into the country.

The U.S. government imposed a 100% tariff on branded drugs in October, but said it would only apply to producers who had not already broken ground on U.S. manufacturing plants.

AbbVie said the construction at the new facility in North Chicago, Illinois would begin in spring 2026, with both new facilities expected to be fully operational in 2029.

The new facilities will integrate advanced manufacturing technologies and artificial intelligence to support production of future pipeline medicines, the company said.

API production – the process of making a drug’s active chemical components – is one of the most complex steps in pharmaceutical manufacturing, the drugmaker said.

AbbVie said it plans to hire 300 people in North Chicago, including engineers, scientists, manufacturing operators and lab technicians.

In January, it committed $100 billion over the next decade to U.S.-based research and development, including an earlier $195 million expansion at the same North Chicago site to boost API production for immunology, oncology and neuroscience drugs.

AbbVie already has 11 manufacturing sites in the U.S. and is also in discussions with multiple U.S. states about potential projects and expects to announce further investments in 2026.

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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