Quick Overview

  • Switzerland-based Octapharma announced it will invest $1.5 billion to build its first biopharmaceutical production facility in the United States in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
  • According to a press release, the 50-acre campus will expand Octapharma's capacity to produce human plasma-derived medicines. The project is expected to bring 1,500 jobs to South Carolina, making it one of the largest private biomedical investments in the state.
  • Operations are planned to begin in the mid-2030s and include an administrative campus for Octapharma's plasma collection business. The South Carolina Department of Commerce approved job development tax credits for the project and provided a $65 million grant to York County for costs such as site preparation, building construction, and road improvements.

In-Depth Analysis

Founded in 1983, Octapharma has more than 40 production facilities and offices worldwide, including production sites in Austria, France, Germany, and Sweden. It has offices in Paramus, New Jersey, and Charlotte, North Carolina, and operates more than 190 plasma collection centers across the United States.

Octapharma said it chose South Carolina for its first U.S. production facility because of the state's access to major logistics networks and deep-water ports, as well as its top-tier technical colleges and universities to support a strong talent pool and workforce development.

"We anticipate significant growth in the future, driven by our existing life-saving therapies and a strong pipeline of new products," said Octapharma CEO and Chairman Wolfgang Marguerre in a statement. "Our production capacity must evolve accordingly, and our U.S. production facility will be an important milestone."

The plant will be located in Palmetto Research Park in Rock Hill, a technology and life sciences park spanning more than 200 acres. Nonprofit healthcare network Novant Health also plans to develop a 25-acre medical campus in the park.

An Octapharma spokesperson declined to comment on the plant's potential production capacity, saying the project is still in the planning stage. In an email, the spokesperson said Octapharma will have a clearer picture of the plant's capacity once construction begins and equipment procurement starts.

The move comes as international biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical companies expand their U.S. operations, driven by trade pressures and reshoring efforts to bring production closer to the U.S. healthcare market.

Last year, UK-based AstraZeneca and Switzerland-based Novartis committed to investing tens of billions of dollars over the coming years to build new production facilities and upgrade existing ones in the United States.

"From a U.S. national security perspective, being able to produce and supply our therapies domestically is invaluable," Marguerre said of Octapharma's latest investment.