Pam Cheng, AstraZeneca’s executive vice president of Global Operations & IT and chief sustainability officer, said: “This new $300 million investment will accelerate our ambition to make next-generation cell therapy a reality, ensuring that we are ready to scale and meet the demands of patients.”

The Rockville facility is located less than five miles away from one of the company’s five global R&D centers and sits within the booming life sciences corridor in Maryland. With close proximity to several universities, the life sciences ecosystem provides an attractive environment for recruiting new and experienced talent, AstraZeneca said.

AstraZeneca expects the investment to create more than 150 new highly skilled jobs. The Rockville facility will join company’s global manufacturing and supply network of nearly 30 manufacturing and supply sites in 16 countries. In the US, AstraZeneca’s manufacturing sites focus on the production of small molecules and biologics.