Pharmaceutical company AbbVie has announced it will be investing $195 million in its North Chicago, Illinois manufacturing plant to expand domestic active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production in the U.S. This investment is part of the company’s previously announced commitment to invest more than $10 billion in the U.S to broadly support innovation and expand critical manufacturing capabilities, and capacities.
Robert Michael, AbbVie’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Over the next decade, AbbVie will expand production of API, drug product, peptides and medical devices in the U.S. to support future medical breakthroughs.”
“This is an important step to maintain U.S. leadership in pharmaceutical innovation and deliver next-generation medicines that make a remarkable impact on patients’ lives,” he added.
READ: Drugmaker AbbVie to acquire Capstan Therapeutics for over $2 billion (July 1, 2025)
API manufacturing is a complex and multi-step process that involves producing the active components responsible for the therapeutic effects of medications. AbbVie states that the new North Chicago API facility will play a role in expanding the company’s chemical synthesis capabilities in the U.S. supporting domestic production of current and next-generation neuroscience, immunology and oncology medicines.
Construction of the new facility will begin in fall 2025, and the facility is expected to be fully functional by 2027. This will expand AbbVie’s footprint in the U.S., where it already supports more than 6,000 jobs.
“AbbVie’s decision to expand its manufacturing footprint in Illinois is a testament to our state’s world-class workforce, infrastructure, cutting-edge research institutions, and location that keeps businesses connected to the nation and the world,” said Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “As a global leader in pharmaceuticals, AbbVie’s investment in Illinois bolsters our world-class biomanufacturing ecosystem and creates jobs while it innovates next generation medicines.”
AbbVie is among the several pharmaceuticals investing in R&D in the U.S. amid the threat of looming tariffs. Johnson & Johnson had earmarked $55 billion over the next four years, while AstraZeneca plans to invest $50 billion by 2030. Roche will also spend $50 billion over the next five years; and there are smaller investment promises from UCB ($5 billion) and Merck & Co. ($3.5 billion).
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There’s also Lilly, which is set to build four new plants, three of which will focus on APIs, which is of particular concern for the U.S. government. Commissioner Marty Makary said the country’s reliance on overseas API sources had created “national security risks,” while announcing a new FDA new program to encourage U.S. pharma manufacturing investments.
AbbVie recently announced its plans to buy Capstan Therapeutics in a deal worth $2.1 billion. Capstan develops CAR-T therapies, a type of treatment that uses a patient’s own immune cells, specifically T cells to fight diseases, with its main drug CPTX2309 currently in early-stage development for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will pay up to $2.1 billion in cash to acquire Capstan.