The Chicago-based biopharmaceutical company AbbVie made a significant move on Feb. 23, as part of its broader commitment to invest heavily in U.S. research and development over the next 10 years.

AbbVie said it will invest$380 million to expand active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing at its hometown campus in North Chicago, Illinois. The move is timely and deepens the White House’s push to drive supply chains back to the U.S., localize production, and control rising drug prices.

The project will add two new, advanced manufacturing facilities in North Chicago, designed to support AbbVie’s next wave of medicines, particularly in neuroscience and metabolic disease. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2026, with operations coming online later in 2029. 

The pharmaceutical giant expects the expansion to create hundreds of high-skilled jobs, from engineers to specialists, starting from the first phase of establishment.

AbbVie’s $100 billion promise to America

This is the first of many investments expected from AbbVie and fits into its larger $100 billion promise to the Trump administration to reshape research in the U.S.

On Jan. 12, AbbVie pledged $100 billion “in U.S.-based research and development and capital investments, including manufacturing, over the next decade.”

AbbVie’s stock is up 11% year over year.

AbbVie The aim is to make pharmaceutical drugs more affordable for Americans, expand access, and ensure U.S. innovation.

As part of its investment prospects, the company will offer lower prices to Medicaid and increase its direct-to-patient offerings through TrumpRx for some of its widely used medications, including Alphagan, Combigan, Humira, and Synthroid.

A changing Pharma landscape

This past year has seen tremendous movement in the pharmaceutical industry. On the one hand, Eli Lilly became the first pharma company to enter the $1 trillion market-cap group.

On the other hand, weight-loss and diabetes-control drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy became more affordable for Americans. These medications also became available at TrumpRx.gov, officially launched on Feb. 5.

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More Health Care: As part of the ongoing progress comes AbbVie, one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies with operations in more than 70 countries. It has a presence in all 50 U.S. states and employs about 29,000 people, with more than 6,000 at its U.S. manufacturing sites.

This $380 million expansion in North Chicago is a significant addition to this political push, which centers on lower prescription costs, reshoring critical production to the U.S., and strengthening its supply chain.

AbbVie will hire 300 people to support these two new facilities, including scientists, engineers, manufacturing operators, and lab technicians.

The new facility will feature state-of-the-art facilities and integrate artificial intelligence to produce the next generation of obesity and neuroscience medicines.

This latest expansion highlights how aggressively the pharma giant is reshaping its U.S. manufacturing footprint. In September 2025, AbbVie broke ground on the first phase of a $195 million investment, starting construction of an API plant in North Chicago.

The new facilities represent the second phase in its series of investments to accelerate U.S. manufacturing capabilities. Additionally, on January 12, it announced an agreement to acquire a device manufacturing facility in Tempe, Arizona, with plans to invest more than $175 million and create 200 positions at the site.

Related: White House shares key plan to lower drug costs