ATLANTA — Belgian drugmaker UCB on Friday dedicated the site of its first U.S. biologics manufacturing campus, a roughly $2 billion project in Gwinnett County billed as one of the largest life sciences investments in Georgia history.
The planned plant is expected to create approximately 330 highly skilled permanent jobs and support more than 1,000 construction jobs. The company projects about $5 billion in total economic impact.
The approximately 460,000-square-foot campus will occupy 79 acres within the Rowen innovation district, a 2,000-acre planned science and learning community in metro Atlanta. UCB says the facility will lean on artificial intelligence, automation and advanced manufacturing to make complex biologic medicines and strengthen its supply chain.
Gov. Brian Kemp, Commerce Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler, Gwinnett County Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson and Belgium Consul General Katherine Raeymaekers joined company leaders for a ribbon-cutting that marks the next phase of development. Guests also unveiled a stonework circle at the campus entrance named for the company founder, Emmanuel Janssen.
Kemp first announced the investment in March after meeting with UCB leaders in Belgium. The company has had its U.S. headquarters in metro Atlanta for more than 30 years and already employs more than 400 people in Georgia. Its medicines focus on neurology and immunology.
UCB said it is seeking partnerships with local universities, schools and workforce groups to train biomanufacturing workers. Georgia Quick Start, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Georgia Power and the state Department of Economic Development worked on the project. The campus is expected to produce recently approved and future biologic medicines once it opens.