Bayer has selected New Albany, Ohio, for a $2.2 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, the company announced. Gov. Mike DeWine said the project would generate 1,500 construction jobs and 600 permanent highly skilled jobs tied to producing compounds used in Bayer medicines. He described the investment as a historic win for the state and said it is Ohio's largest international health care project and the largest German direct investment in its history.
Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said the plant would have manufacturing expertise and a skilled workforce and would strengthen the company's ability to supply innovative medicines in the United States and other countries. He declined to identify other cities that had been finalists. Anderson also said he expects most hiring to come from Ohio.
The state's Ohio Life Science Training Center in New Albany, a $30 million facility expected to open next year, will prepare workers for pharmaceutical biomanufacturing careers. Bayer's production site will be about five miles away. DeWine said the center and plant would connect training directly to jobs making medicine ingredients.
The plant is to be near seven major Ohio research universities. Ohio State University President Ravi Bellamkonda said in a statement that university researchers look forward to working with Bayer teams. New Albany Mayor Sloan Spalding said the city has built an environment for business growth and careers.
Groundbreaking is expected next year, with manufacturing projected to begin in 2031. A second module for drug product manufacturing is scheduled for 2034. Bayer, a German company, said it treated 4.5 million people in the U.S. with prescription medicines over the past three years, according to Anderson. Its U.S. pharmaceuticals headquarters is in Whippany, New Jersey, with other sites across several states. New Albany already hosts Amgen, Hims & Hers and Pharmavite. The nearby Intel chip plant is years behind schedule, with production pushed to at least 2030.