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ENR AT-A-GLANCE
5 Things to Know
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$800M-PLUS EXPANSION
GSK plans to expand its biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Upper Merion Township, Pa., with construction scheduled to begin in 2027.
FOUR FACILITY COMPONENTS
Following demolition of existing buildings, plans call for a commercial-scale biologics manufacturing facility, R&D pilot plant, centralized quality-control laboratory and manufacturing science and technology hub.
2030 OPERATIONS TARGET
Company officials say the expanded campus should be fully operational by 2030 and create more than 300 permanent jobs within five years.
2027 CONSTRUCTION START
GSK expected construction of its Upper Merion biologics “flex” factory to begin in 2026 when it announced the project in 2025; the latest plan places the start in 2027.
$1.7B IN PENNSYLVANIA
The Upper Merion investment and GSK’s separate $800-million Marietta manufacturing project total nearly $1.7 billion in Pennsylvania.
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GSK detailed plans Oct. 9 for a more than $800-million expansion of its biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Upper Merion Township, Pa., with construction scheduled to begin in 2027.
Demolition of existing buildings will make way for a commercial-scale biologics manufacturing facility that can support clinical and commercial drug production, state officials said. Plans also include a co-located research and development pilot plant, a centralized quality-control laboratory and a manufacturing science and technology hub.
Company officials said the expanded campus should fully operate by 2030 and create more than 300 permanent jobs within five years.
Plans for the biologics factory date to September 2025, when GSK, the name change from GlaxoSmithKline made in 2022, included the project in $1.2 billion of U.S. manufacturing and technology investments. The London-based manufacturer then expected construction of the Upper Merion “flex” factory to begin in 2026; the latest announcement places the start in 2027.
“We are going to need about 300, or north of 300, new full-time GSK employees to run this state-of-the-art facility, and that doesn’t include all the trades that we need to build this actual plant,” GSK Upper Merion site director John Jewett told KYW Newsradio.
Commercial production, research and development and advanced digital capabilities are planned together at the Upper Merion campus. The previously announced flex factory is designed to support potential medicines targeting respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, as well as several forms of cancer.
“Investing in additional commercial and R&D manufacturing with advanced digital capabilities at our Upper Merion site will help accelerate the development and supply of future medicines for patients,” GSK Global Supply Chain President Regis Simard said.
Biopharmaceutical manufacturing at Upper Merion dates to 1996, when GSK built the existing facility for cell-culture-based production. GSK began repurposing existing space there in 2017 and announced a $120-million modernization in 2019 that incorporated flexible manufacturing technology and a new analytical laboratory.
Another major GSK manufacturing project is already underway about 75 miles west in Marietta, Pa. Construction began there in 2024 on an $800-million facility designed to double the site’s size and capacity. GSK said last year that its new U.S. manufacturing investments would create construction jobs and permanent positions.
Together, the Upper Merion and Marietta investments total nearly $1.7 billion in Pennsylvania.