NEW ALBANY – The biopharmaceutical company Amgen has announced the opening of its manufacturing site in central Ohio, joining Intel, Amazon, Google and other tech companies who are turning the region into what state leaders call America’s “Silicon Heartland.”
The nearly 300,000-square-foot plant near New Albany will employ 400 full-time staff and is the company’s most advanced facility to date.
“This new Ohio facility is a success story in advanced healthcare manufacturing and the Made-in-America supply chain we need to live and thrive,” Lt. Governor Jon Husted said.
Amgen claims its “biology first” approach to developing human therapeutics that combat serious illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.
“As part of Amgen’s global biomanufacturing network, Amgen Ohio will play an important role in helping us address serious disease around the world with our innovative biomedicines.” Amgen chairman and CEO Robert Bradway said.
Amgen products typically address diseases for which there are limited treatment options, or they are medicines that provide a viable option to what is otherwise available, company officials said.
Amgen has invested $474 million in the “smart facility,” which will boast artificial intelligence, automated guided vehicles, and augmented reality for training or remote assistance.