Bayer Eyes $2.2B Ohio Manufacturing Campus

Bayer plans to expand the its U.S. production footprint with a new, $2.2 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing campus in New Albany, Ohio. Groundbreaking is slated for mid-2027, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The complex will come online in two phases. The first phase, dedicated to drug substance manufacturing, is scheduled to become operational in 2031, followed by a drug product manufacturing module in 2034. The project is expected to create roughly 600 permanent jobs, along with approximately 1,500 construction positions.

The campus will occupy roughly 200 acres within New Albany International Business Park, a more than 12,000-acre development that included about 43 million square feet of commercial space as of last year.

The site is south of Route 161, near Beach Road along Ganton Parkway, the same source shows. Other life sciences companies nearby include American Regent, Amgen and Pharmavite.

Bayer’s U.S. expansion

The New Albany facility will add to the more than $7 billion Bayer has spent on pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing in the U.S. during the past five years.

The firm’s 46-acre Berkeley, Calif., biotech campus employs about 1,000 people and serves as the largest facility in its global biotech network. Last year, Bayer also completed a $44 million, 70,000-square-foot expansion of its Myerstown, Pa., facility, the largest manufacturing site in the company’s global Consumer Health network.

US pharma manufacturing gains momentum

The New Albany investment comes as pharmaceutical manufacturers increasingly prioritize U.S.-based production. Onshoring efforts, supply-chain concerns, tariffs, national security considerations and growing production needs for blockbuster drugs are among the factors supporting demand for manufacturing space, even as traditional life science real estate works through elevated vacancy.

Ohio has been capturing part of that manufacturing expansion. Earlier this year, pharmaceutical manufacturer Resilience announced plans to move its headquarters to Blue Ash, Ohio, near its 608,323-square-foot West Chester manufacturing campus, which the company acquired for $212 million in 2023. Resilience is also investing $100 million in a 450,000-square-foot Blue Ash facility supporting sterile injectable operations.