Dive Brief:
- Merck plans to spend $895 million to expand a De Soto, Kansas, manufacturing facility for its animal health segment, the company announced last week.
- The 200,000-square-foot plant, operated by Merck Animal Health, will open within an existing Merck facility as part of an $860 million investment at the site. The company will also establish a $35 million research and development center.
- Commercial operations are expected to begin in 2030 and create more than 200 jobs.
Dive Insight:
The announcement comes on the heels of Merck's decision last month to invest $1 billion in a Delaware drug manufacturing facility, part of a growing number of biopharma companies announcing expansions to their U.S. footprints amid the Trump administration’s tariffs.
At the new animal health facility, Merck will increase its filling and freeze dryer capacity for large molecule vaccines and biologic products. The drugmaker already operates multiple animal health manufacturing sites in the U.S., including in Elkhorn, Nebraska; Millsboro, Delaware; Ames, Iowa; and Worthington, Minnesota.
The new location is strategically located in the “animal health corridor” — an area anchored by Manhattan, Kansas, and Columbia, Missouri, that is home to 75% of businesses in the industry.
“This investment in our site is designed to increase Merck Animal Health’s ability to meet the growing customer demand for its portfolio of animal biologics products and ensure the company remains at the forefront of innovation in the animal health sector,” Richard DeLuca, president of Merck Animal Health, said in a statement.
Merck has big U.S. investment plans this decade. The company has plans to invest more than $9 billion in the country by 2028.
In March, Merck opened a $1 billion vaccine plant in North Carolina, and the company also plans to invest $3.5 billion in biologics and small molecule manufacturing sites in the U.S.
