EXCLUSIVE — Merck will be making a $70 billion investment in U.S.-based research and manufacturing starting in 2025, the pharmaceutical company announced on Monday.
The company will begin its planned domestic investment by starting construction on a $3 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing site in Elkton, Virginia on Monday morning. The new site will employ over 500 full-time workers and create about 8,000 construction jobs within Virginia.
As part of it’s $70 billion domestic investment over the next several years, Merck has announced four manufacturing projects across the United States in 2025, totaling $6 billion. These capital investments included a vaccine manufacturing plant in North Carolina, a biologics center in Delaware, an animal health manufacturing facility in Kansas, and Monday’s investment in Virginia.
“It’s been an extremely exciting year for investment in U.S.-based manufacturing,” Dave Maraldo, Merck’s senior vice president of manufacturing operations, told the Washington Examiner. “Those four announcements are anticipated to create 1,600 full time manufacturing jobs as well as tens of thousands of contractor jobs.”
The company’s new $3 billion Virginia site will manufacture both active pharmaceutical ingredients and drug products.
“This transformative investment is a monumental step forward for Virginia’s life sciences
sector, not only reinforcing Merck’s long-standing commitment to innovation and excellence but
strengthening Virginia’s position as a national leader in advanced manufacturing and health care solutions,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) said in a statement.
As several pharmaceutical companies announce U.S. investments in the face of the Trump administration’s floated pharmaceutical tariffs, Merck and Eli Lilly have turned to Virginia for manufacturing sites. Eli Lilly recently announced a $5 billion investment in Virginia as one of its four distinct U.S. manufacturing investments across the U.S. this year.
President Donald Trump originally set an Oct. 1 deadline for pharmaceutical companies to implement “most favored nation policies” before his threatened tariffs on pharmaceuticals took effect, but the deadline was extended as several companies remain in drug price negotiations with the administration. Pfizer and AstraZeneca have each announced deals with the administration.
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When asked if Merck’s $70 billion U.S. investment announcement is related to the Trump administration’s floated pharmaceutical tariffs, Maraldo told the Washington Examiner that the company communicates with the administration on a variety of issues and supports “America’s global healthcare leadership.”
“Our company is in dialog with the administration on a variety of different issues. We continue to engage and look forward to those discussions with the administration on policy that sustains, strengthens, and protects innovation and drives America’s global healthcare leadership position,” Maraldo said.
The company said it’s planned U.S. manufacturing investment is expected to create over 48,000 construction jobs by 2029. They did not provide an end date for the investment.
“Today is an important milestone for Merck, for Virginia, for manufacturing in the United
States and, most importantly, for the patients we serve,” Robert M. Davis, Merck’s chairman and
CEO, said in a statement. “This investment helps advance our goal of providing new, innovative treatment options for people facing serious health challenges in the U.S. and around the world.”
Merck’s Elkton, Virginia, plant opened 85 years ago as a facility that produced vitamins for World War II soldiers, according to the site lead Todd Stamp. Stamp spoke to why the facility is an ideal place for continued investment.
“We’ve got the experience, the capabilities, to match up with the Merck pipeline because we have history in both large and small molecule, as well as vaccines and biologics,” Stamp said.
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Though Merck told the Washington Examiner it was too early in the process to tell which specific products with be manufactured at the facility, Maraldo said it will support small molecule manufacturing and testing.
“Small molecules make up a broad array of therapeutic and prophylactic options for patients around the world. The ability to reassure production of those medicines means that we’re able to bring the manufacturing, testing and distribution much closer to the patients in the markets that we serve,” Maraldo said.
