AstraZeneca has unveiled a newly expanded manufacturing facility in Texas to the tune of $445m, as the drugmaker aims to meet increasing demand for hyperkalaemia treatment Lokelma (sodium zirconium cyclosilicate).
The near half a billion-dollar expansion at AstraZeneca鈥檚 manufacturing facility in Coppell, Texas, adds a new 9,000ft虏 building, which will house two production lines. The investment will also fund upgrades for drug substance and drug product laboratory testing, along with additional space for warehousing and administration. Overall, AstraZeneca says the expansion will double the production of Lokelma.
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Lokelma is an oral suspension treatment that lowers potassium levels in the blood. The drug was US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved in 2018, three years after being acquired by AstraZeneca in a takeover of ZS Pharma for $2.7bn.
Lokelma generated $542m in 2024, an increase of 32% from 2023. 网曝门 by GlobalData鈥檚 Pharma Intelligence Centre forecasts annual global sales to reach $938m by 2031.
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AstraZeneca鈥檚 Texas facility, which employs more than 250 people, is the sole supplier of Lokelma to more than 50 countries, including the US.
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By GlobalData鈥淥ur manufacturing facility in Coppell serves as both a critical pillar in global healthcare and has played an important role in supporting the local workforce over the past 10 years. The expansion underscores our commitment to patients and support for Texas鈥� long-term vision for scientific growth and innovation,鈥� said Jim Fox, AstraZeneca鈥檚 senior vice president of Americas Supply Operations.
The $445m investment into Coppell comes a week after AstraZeneca commenced construction on its new $4.5bn active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility in Virginia. The work in both Coppell and Virginia is part of a wider $50bn outlay by the company to bolster manufacturing capabilities in the US by 2030.
Decreasing reliance on drugs manufactured overseas has been a key ambition of the Trump administration. In May, Trump signed an executive order that will streamline the path for pharma companies to build new US drug manufacturing production sites and improve inspection times for US facilities. The FDA then launched a scheme that would make it easier for new facilities to be approved in August 2025.
AstraZeneca is one of many non-US big pharma companies to turn its attention to the US. Swiss big pharma Roche outlaid $50bn worth of investment in the US, which will generate more than 1,000 jobs in new and expanded facilities. British drugmaker GSK said it would invest $30bn in the US over the next five years.
