Belgian drugmaker UCB to invest $2B in suburban Atlanta plant, adding 330 jobs

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ATLANTA (AP) — Belgian pharmaceutical company UCB announced Tuesday that it would invest $2 billion to build a drug-making plant in suburban Atlanta.

The rapidly growing drugmaker said the plant, which would employ about 330 people upon completion, would anchor its effort to sell more drugs in the United States.

“This decision reflects our confidence in UCB’s long-term growth and our deep-rooted commitment to the United States,” company CEO Jean-Christophe Tellier said in a statement.

UCB had announced in June that it wanted to build a new U.S. factory, as well as hire more U.S.-based contract manufacturers to make drugs. The company already has about 2,000 U.S. employees. The company has been growing rapidly, seeing revenues grow 26% to nearly $9 billion (7.74 billion euros) in 2025. Profit jumped even more, up 46% to $1.81 billion (1.56 billion euros.)

“The new biologics facility in Gwinnett County, Georgia, is designed to meet increasing demand and ensure patients receive reliable, timely access to vital treatments,” UCB executive Jacques Marbehant wrote in a blog post.

UCB previously developed antihistamines Zyrtec and Xyzal. It’s currently focused on classes of drugs that treat neurological and autoimmune diseases. Its current blockbuster is a drug called Bimzelx, which is used to treat autoimmune disorders including psoriasis and inflammatory arthritis.

The company said it would locate its plant in a new research park on the eastern fringe of Gwinnett County that boosters hope could some day rival North Carolina's Research Triangle Park. Its U.S. headquarters is located in Smyrna, another Atlanta suburb.

The company also cited proximity to researchers at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and the University of Georgia in Athens. Leaders of both universities have been trying to cultivate biomedical research and manufacturing.

Design and construction are expected to take six to seven years. Gwinnett County officials said they had committed to $174 million of incentives, including property tax breaks, fee waivers and infrastructure improvements to support jobs expected to pay an average of more than $72,000 a year. The company could also qualify for millions of dollars in state income tax credits, a waiver on sales tax on equipment purchases and state-paid job training.