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Investment supports 2,600 jobs, including 300 highly

skilled

positions

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AstraZeneca's ( AZN ) expansion aligns with Trump's domestic

manufacturing push

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Announcement is part of drugmaker's $50 billion investment

Nov 21 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca ( AZN ) said on Friday it

will invest $2 billion to expand its manufacturing footprint in

Maryland as part of its previously announced $50 billion plan

to expand manufacturing and research capabilities in the U.S. by

2030.

Global pharmaceutical companies have been ramping up

investments in the United States to expand production capacity,

following President Donald Trump's call for the industry to make

more medicines domestically instead of importing active

ingredients or finished products.

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's $2 billion investment will

help expand its biologics manufacturing facility in Frederick

and construct a new state-of-the-art facility in Gaithersburg

for the development and clinical supply of drugs to be used in

trials.

This investment marks the fourth in AstraZeneca's ( AZN ) larger

expansion plan, and will support 2,600 jobs across the two sites

in Maryland, including the creation of 300 highly skilled jobs.

CEO Pascal Soriot has looked to balance Trump's demands on

the sector with a full listing of its shares on the New York

Stock Exchange, as well as a deal to lower drug prices for

millions of Americans.

AstraZeneca's ( AZN ) Frederick facility currently produces

biologics, a class of medications that come from living

organisms and include a wide range of products such as vaccines

and other therapies. These are used across AstraZeneca's ( AZN )

portfolio of cancer, autoimmune, respiratory and rare disease

treatments.

The planned expansion will nearly double commercial

manufacturing capacity, allowing increased supply of existing

medicines and, for the first time, production across the

company's rare disease portfolio, AstraZeneca ( AZN ) said, adding that

it will create 200 highly skilled jobs and 900 construction

roles.

Its new clinical manufacturing facility in Gaithersburg,

which will be fully operational by 2029, will create an

additional 100 jobs, retain 400 roles and support a further

1,000 construction-related jobs.

The drugmaker's previous announcements included a new cell

therapy manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland, a new

drug substance manufacturing facility in Virginia and the

expansion of its existing manufacturing facility in Coppell,

Texas.