UCB Dedicates Future U.S. Biologics Manufacturing Campus in Georgia

UCB has dedicated the Rowen, GA, site where it plans to build a $2 billion biologics manufacturing campus that is set to open as the Belgian-based drug developer’s first U.S. manufacturing site.

When completed in 2032 or 2033, the campus is expected to support commercial production of recently approved and future biologic medicines, applying artificial intelligence, automation, and advanced manufacturing technologies. The campus is intended to further integrate UCB’s U.S. patient value chain from research and development through manufacturing and delivery.

Some 330 permanent jobs are expected to be based at the approximately 460,000-square-foot campus, which will occupy 79 acres within the Rowen innovation district in Georgia’s Gwinnett County. UCB bought the 79 acres from the Rowen Foundation, which is developing a 1,900-acre campus on Highway 316, launched in 2020 as a “knowledge” community for biopharma and other innovation-based fields.

In its announcement of the campus site dedication, UCB said it chose to build its first U.S. manufacturing campus in Georgia because of what it called the Peach State’s strong life sciences ecosystem, highly skilled workforce, robust infrastructure, and access to leading academic and research institutions.

Another factor in the decision: Gwinnett County has committed $174 million in incentives and infrastructure investments to support UCB’s project.

UCB’s project is the brightest recent success of Georgia life sciences leaders, who worked through industry group Georgia Life Sciences to lay out a 10-year “Roadmap” last year with the aim of “positioning Georgia as the scale-up manufacturing hub of the Southeast.” The UCB project, announced in March, helped place Georgia among the “Next 5 States” within GEN’s Next 10 U.S. Biopharma Clusters A-List.

“Long-term commitment”

“Our manufacturing investment in the United States reflects our long-term commitment to patients, strengthening our ability to serve them while contributing to scientific innovation, highly skilled jobs, and economic growth in Georgia,” UCB CEO Jean-Christophe Tellier said in a statement.

Tellier and other UCB leaders were joined at a dedication ceremony by dignitaries that included Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R); Jeffrey Kessler, U.S. Department of Commerce Under Secretary for Industry and Security; Nicole Love Hendrickson (D), Chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners; and Katherine Raeymaekers, Consul General of Belgium in Atlanta.

During the ceremony, the dignitaries joined top UCB executives in unveiling the Emmanuel Janssen Circle, a commemorative stonework installation just completed within the roundabout to the entrance of the future campus. Janssen (1879-1955) was a Belgian businessman who founded Union Chimique Belge (UCB) on January 18, 1928. The company initially focused on industrial chemicals before evolving into a developer of biologics for indications in neurology and immunology.

“UCB’s new biomanufacturing campus builds on the entrepreneurial legacy of Baron Emmanuel Janssen, founder of UCB, while strengthening the transatlantic collaboration that drives economic growth, scientific innovation, and improving people’s lives,” Raeymaekers stated. “Today’s site dedication reflects the strength of the partnership between Belgium, the United States, and the State of Georgia—and our shared commitment to enduring progress, innovation, and opportunity.”

UCB worked with numerous public and private partners to locate its biologics manufacturing campus in Rowen—including the Metro Atlanta Chamber; Georgia Quick Start, which provides customized workforce training through the Technical College System of Georgia; Gwinnett County Government; Georgia Power Company; the public-private economic development initiative Partnership Gwinnett; and the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Headquartered in Brussels, UCB employs more than 10,000 people in nearly 40 countries—including the United States, where the company employs more than 2,000 people in research, development, manufacturing, commercial operations, and corporate functions.

UCB has maintained a U.S. presence for nearly a century. The company now employs more than 400 people in Georgia, where it established its Stateside headquarters in Atlanta in 1993.

More than 1,000 construction jobs are expected to be created in connection with the campus during the six- to seven-year projected timeframe for design and construction.

“At UCB, our purpose is to create value for people living with severe diseases, and that purpose guides the science we pursue, where we invest, and the choices we make for the long term,” Tellier added.

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