Bayer to Invest US$2.2bn in Ohio Manufacturing Facility

The US is set for another multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical manufacturing facility after Bayer announced it will begin constructing a US$2.2bn “flexible, modular campus” in New Albany, Ohio.

Bayer’s latest investment builds on more than US$7bn invested in US pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing over the last five years. 

A slew of other pharmaceutical giants have pledged similar investments into the US manufacturing ecosystem in 2025 and 2026, including Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Roche.

Commenting on the planned facility, Bayer’s Global Chief Operating Officer Sebastian Guth writes on LinkedIn: “This new site is the next step in our journey, expanding Bayer’s capacity to manufacture high-quality medicines at scale and closer to the patients who need them."

He continues: “I see this investment from both a US and global perspective: It strengthens our presence in one of Bayer’s most important growth markets while helping us bring our next generation of medicines to patients around the world.”

“State-of-the-art site”

The Ohio site will combine drug substance and drug product manufacturing within a modular campus, with advanced digital and automation technologies built into its design. Bayer says the site will initially support its growing portfolio across oncology, cardiovascular and renal care.

The first manufacturing module, focused on drug substance production, is expected to become operational in 2031, followed by a second module for drug product manufacturing in 2034.

With these extended timelines, the project represents a long-term expansion of Bayer’s US manufacturing infrastructure rather than an immediate capacity increase.

Bayer expects the development to create around 600 high-value jobs in the New Albany International Business Park, alongside approximately 1,500 construction jobs during the build.

Supply chain implications

For Bayer, the investment also has a supply chain dimension. The company says the Ohio facility will strengthen its global product supply network and improve its ability to serve markets with greater resilience and reliability.

Holger Weintritt, Head of Product Supply at Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals division, writes on LinkedIn: “This is an important investment in the long-term strength of our global supply network. 

“Together with continued investment in our manufacturing sites worldwide, the new facility in Ohio will further enhance resilience and reliability for patients in the United States and beyond.”

The Ohio site will be Bayer’s seventh bricks-and-mortar facility in the US.

US pharmaceutical investment

Figures published in August 2026 suggest that global pharmaceutical firms have invested around US$500bn in the US pharmaceutical sector in 2026 alone as they seek to boost supply chain resilience and bypass tariff pressures.

Several of these commitments include major new manufacturing facilities.

In August 2026, Bristol Myers Squibb announced a US$2.3bn manufacturing campus in Houston, Texas, as part of its broader US$40bn five-year commitment to US R&D, technology and domestic manufacturing. 

Roche has announced a significant commitment, pledging US$50bn in April 2025 to US pharmaceuticals and diagnostics over five years, while Pfizer agreed to invest a landmark US$70bn in US research and development and domestic manufacturing in September 2025.

Similar investment commitments have also been made by the likes of Eli Lilly, Novo, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson and GSK.

Bayer - key partners

Google Cloud

CEO: Thomas Kurian | HQ: Mountain View, California

Bayer and Google Cloud collaborate on AI-powered healthcare applications, particularly in radiology. Their work includes Bayer’s AI Innovation Platform, built on Google Cloud technologies including Vertex AI, BigQuery and Healthcare API, designed to accelerate the development and deployment of compliant medical imaging AI applications.

Huma

CEO: Dan Vahdat | HQ: London, UK

Huma and Bayer have partnered on digital cardiovascular health, including the Bayer Aspirin Heart Health Risk Assessment. Huma developed the algorithm underpinning the tool, using UK Biobank data to assess an individual’s long-term cardiovascular disease risk. The partnership expanded to Saudi Arabia in 2024, supporting Bayer’s digital preventative-health strategy.

Recursion

CEO: Najat Khan | HQ: Salt Lake City, Utah

Bayer and Recursion have collaborated around AI-enabled drug discovery, reflecting Bayer’s wider push to apply data science and advanced technologies across the pharmaceutical value chain. Recursion combines automated laboratory experimentation with machine learning and large-scale biological datasets, creating an AI-driven approach to identifying and developing potential new medicines.