Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and other state officials cut the ribbon at a new AstraZeneca facility in Rockville Monday.
Miller joined with Secretary of Higher Education Sanjay Rai, and Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Harry Coker Jr. on a tour of the $300 million cell therapy facility. It is an 84,000 square foot area expected to create jobs for STEM professionals.
The company will focus on manufacturing CAR-T cell therapies. The therapies will enable cancer clinical trials to be conducted throughout the world.
AstraZeneca currently has about 4,500 employees throughout Montgomery County.
The biopharma and life sciences industries directly support more than 54,000 jobs in Maryland and generate $41.9 billion in economic activity for our state each year, according to Miller. Roughly 5,000 life sciences businesses and labs operate within Maryland.
“By prioritizing innovation in the life sciences, Maryland is not only investing in breakthrough research — we are setting the national standard for how public leadership can drive scientific discovery, economic growth, and better health outcomes for all,” Miller said in a news release.
“AstraZeneca plays a major role in supporting humanity, as well as Maryland’s innovation ecosystem, from producing new life-saving therapies to employing thousands of highly skilled workers throughout the state,” Coker Jr. said.
“We have moved at unprecedented speed to get our site to operational-readiness and are looking forward to delivering potentially transformative therapies to patients living with cancer and auto immune conditions from early next year. This latest investment is part of our $3.5 billion investment in United States R&D and manufacturing, underscoring our confidence in the future of science and innovation in the U.S.” said AstraZeneca Executive Vice president, Global Operations, IT and Chief Sustainability Officer Pam Cheng.
Today, we joined @AstraZenecaUS to celebrate a $300 million investment in their new cell therapy facility in Montgomery County —bringing 150 high-skilled jobs & new hope in the fight against cancer. pic.twitter.com/QWV20ysw5P
— Lt. Governor Aruna Miller (@LtGovMiller) May 5, 2025
