Pfizer announces $750M investment to expand SW Michigan facility
(CBS DETROIT) - Pfizer announced on Monday it is investing $750 million to expand its Southwest Michigan pharmaceutical facility.
The company says the Modular Aseptic Processing (MAP) Phase 2 expansion will create 300 jobs. Officials say the facility near Kalamazoo, where Pfizer first mass produced its COVID-19 vaccine, will advance its sterile manufacturing technology. It will also utilize new mRNA technology and ultra-low temperature shortage.
"Since 2017, Pfizer has invested $5 billion to support the ongoing growth of our manufacturing leadership in the U.S." Albert Bourla, Chairman and CEO of Pfizer, said in a statement. "This expansion is part of our blueprint to grow our U.S. manufacturing base, create more manufacturing jobs, and help ensure patients everywhere can get the medicines they need."
Officials say the expansion adds to the $465 million investment of the company's sterile injectable production facilities. Pfizer broke ground on the plant in March 2021, bringing 450 jobs.
Additionally, Pfizer announced a $120 million investment to expand production of the COVID-19 oral treatment, Paxlovid.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who joined Pfizer officials on Monday, said the company "is making another bold bet on Michigan's manufacturing strengths and hardworking people."
"We brought this investment home thanks to effective collaboration between the state and Pfizer, and I know that Michigan's future is bright because we have world-leading companies, economic momentum, and the hardest working people on the planet to move us forward," Whitmer said.
The manufacturing site, where the Pfizer mass produced the COVID-19 vaccine, is one of the company's largest in its network.
The facility has been in operation since 1948.