Bayer to Invest $2.2 Billion in U.S. Pharma Manufacturing Expansion

By Adria Calatayud

Bayer said it plans to spend $2.2 billion to build a new manufacturing site in Ohio for its pharmaceutical business, becoming the latest European drugmaker to invest in the U.S.

The German agricultural and pharmaceutical group said Friday that its new site in New Albany will create around 600 jobs, with plans to open a first module dedicated to drug substance manufacturing in 2031, followed by a second module for finished products in 2034.

Bayer's pharma business has been looking to expand in the U.S., betting that an enlarged presence in the world's largest drug market can help it revive sales growth after two key products went off patent.

With the move, the company joins a growing list of European pharma companies committing to invest in the U.S. Under pressure from the Trump administration's tariff threats, big drugmakers like AstraZeneca, Novartis and Roche, as well as smaller rivals, pledged to make multibillion-dollar investments in the country and have started to execute their plans.

"The U.S. is our largest and fastest-growing market," Bayer's U.S. president, Sebastian Guth, said in an interview.

Stefan Oelrich, the president of Bayer's pharma division, told The Wall Street Journal earlier this year that the company was looking at expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint to aid its turnaround plan.

Guth, who is also global chief operating officer of Bayer's pharma unit, said the company aims to bring manufacturing closer to its largest markets. The U.S. investment will also help the business accelerate growth momentum, one of its current priorities alongside strengthening its drug pipeline and boosting productivity, he added.

Bayer's Ohio site will initially focus on producing small-molecule oncology, cardiovascular and renal drugs, Guth said. The company also has a manufacturing site dedicated to biologic medicines--those grown from living cells--in Berkeley, Calif.

The group decided to invest in the U.S. partly because of the country's willingness to pay for innovation, Guth said.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2026 15:24 ET (19:24 GMT)