Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) announced the groundbreaking of its newest biomanufacturing plant, located in New Albany, Ohio. The final product assembly and packaging plant will support the growing demand for Amgen’s medicines in the United States and is expected to be operational by 2024.
“Amgen’s choice to build a cutting-edge facility where approximately 400 Ohioans will assemble and package medicines that will positively benefit the lives of millions of those battling serious illnesses globally is great news for the state of Ohio,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “Amgen’s newest plant will be its most efficient and sustainable yet while showcasing the advantages of tapping into Ohio’s biotech talent and ingenuity.”
Arleen Paulino, senior vice president of Manufacturing at Amgen noted the reasons Amgen selected the Columbus region, “The positive business climate, access to a growing and diverse talent pool and the convenience from a logistics perspective were all important factors in our decision. We are very excited to be here and to build strong connections with the local community,” she said.
“Amgen’s ground-breaking represents an important milestone for the New Albany International Business Park,” said William Ebbing, President of New Albany Company. “As we continue to diversify and expand the Business Park, we recognize the critical importance of the biotech industry and are thrilled that a globally recognized leader like Amgen selected New Albany for its expansion. We’re looking forward to collaborating with Amgen as they establish operations here and become active members of the community.”
Construction management for the project is being led by Turner Construction and design services are provided by CRB Group. “In building this site, we expect to invest $365 million,” said Sam Guhan, vice president of Engineering at Amgen. “Environmental sustainability will be a priority, and we aspire for this plant to be LEED-certified and designed. We will maximize energy efficiency and waste reduction, advancing Amgen’s plan to make our operations carbon neutral over the next several years.”
The new site, now known as Amgen Ohio, will be led by Sandra Rodriguez-Toledo, vice president of Site Operations at Amgen Ohio. “When operational, Amgen Ohio will be a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, which will enable us to continue to bring new innovative medicines to every patient, every time,” she said. “We have just begun hiring and will continue to open more roles in the future for technicians and engineers, along with quality assurance, quality control, administrative and management positions. I’m thrilled to be here in the Columbus region and am excited to welcome new employees to Amgen.”
In October, Amgen was named one of the World’s Best Workplaces™ by Great Place to Work®. Earlier this year, Amgen was named by Forbes as one of “America’s Best Employers for Diversity” for the fourth straight year and also landed on the magazine’s inaugural list of “America’s Best Employers for New Graduates.” Also this year, Amgen earned a perfect score – for the fourth consecutive year – on the Corporate Equality Index, the premier benchmarking report on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer workplace equality.
Amgen, a founding member of the OneTen Coalition, a coalition of 35 of the world’s largest, best-known companies plans to use its resources to change the employment paradigm for Blacks in the U.S. The Coalition aims to hire one million Black Americans into good-paying, family-sustaining jobs over the next ten years. To achieve this goal, Amgen will work with businesses, educational institutions and training partners to better develop, retain and advance diverse talent, focusing on Black Americans without four-year college degrees.
Amgen has been at the forefront of innovation in biologic medicines for more than 40 years, serving patients with serious illnesses across the therapeutic areas of oncology, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, bone health, neuroscience and nephrology.
Amgen has nearly 25,000 employees worldwide, including more than 14,000 in the U.S. with operations in California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island. The Amgen Foundation is the principal channel for Amgen’s corporate philanthropy and, to date, has contributed over $325 million to nonprofit organizations advancing excellence in science education and strengthening the communities where the company’s employees live and work.