Bristol Myer’s Squibb (BMS) has announced a $2.3bn investment in a manufacturing campus in Houston, Texas.
On Monday, the New Jersey pharma giant confirmed their plans to build a modular and “multi-modal” manufacturing base in the Generation Park Management District, saying it intends to employ 500 members of staff at the facility.
The cost of the investment is over twice what the company had previously estimated it would be in a government application earlier this year.
Back in May when the company originally filed documents with the state of Texas, they proposed that the 600,000 square foot complex would cost them $1bn.
Now, they promise that the hub of pharmaceutical activity that will “grow in scale, capability and workforce for decades to come”, supporting drug product and finished manufacturing from late development through to launch.
BMS, which was ranked as the 10th biggest pharma company by revenue in 2025, saw a 16% loss in sales of its legacy drugs last year, including flagship blood cancer immunomodulatory medications, Revlimid (lenalidomide) and Pomalyst (pomalidomide).
The plant, which is part of the firm’s $40bn, five-year investment plan, will be built with “configuration flexibility”, BMS said, to allow for the incorporation of future advancements in digital integration and automation.
The company says their latest addition will enable the production of small molecules, biologics and antibody-drug conjugate medicines for a variety of disease areas.
Chris Boerner, CEO, BMS, said: “As part of our $40bn commitment to the United States, we’re building the domestic manufacturing capabilities needed to deliver the next generation of medicines and support future scientific breakthroughs.
“Houston and the state of Texas offer the talent, infrastructure, and partnership needed to help bring that vision to life.”
BMS competitor Eli Lilly has also recently invested in manufacturing space in the Generation Park Management District, spending $6.5bn on an active pharmaceutical ingredients plant, a plan which they unveiled in September last year.
Both of these recent expansions into Houston were likely encouraged by the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation (JETI) programme which launched in 2024 with the aim to provide incentives for large development projects in the state.
Governor Greg Abbott said at the time of its launch: “The JETI program is a new, transparent economic development incentive tool to help our communities continue to attract transformational capital investments that will create good-paying jobs for generations to come.”
“Texas is America’s jobs engine, thanks to our welcoming business climate, robust infrastructure, and skilled and growing workforce,” he added.
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