Amgen, a Thousand Oaks-based biotechnology giant, plans to invest $600 million in a center for science and innovation at its global headquarters.
Construction on the advanced automation center where Amgen will be able to manufacture its pharmaceutical drugs faster and safer, is expected to begin this month and create “hundreds” of jobs for researchers, engineers and scientists, according to a recent announcement by the company.
“This new center will empower our scientists with the tools and collaborative environment they need to shape the next era of scientific discovery and advance medicines that improve human health,” said Robert Bradway, Amgen chairman and chief executive officer.
Amgen’s expanded Ventura County headquarters — which has a workforce of 5,500 — builds on other recent investments from the company, including a $900 million expansion of its manufacturing facility in New Albany, Ohio. This final product assembly and packaging plant supports the growing demand for Amgen’s medicines and uses state-of-the-art technologies and automation.
In January 2025, Amgen also broke ground on a a drug substance facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, where it said it is investing more a $1 billion.
Founded in the northwestern L.A. suburb of Thousand Oaks in 1980, Amgen’s biggest drugs by sales in 2024 include Prolia and XGEVA, which treat bone diseases and osteoporosis and contributed more than $6.7 billion in revenue; Enbrel, an anti-inflammatory drug that generated $3.3 billion in sales, and Repatha, a cholesterol-lowering medicine, a $2.3 billion in sales drug.
Since 2017, Amgen has invested more than $40 billion in manufacturing and research and development. This investment includes more than $5 billion in direct capital spending in the U.S.
Gov. Gavin Newsom noted the local Amgen expansion on Monday, Sept. 15 as part of more than $1.5 billion in investments in life sciences in California in recent weeks.
Besides Amgen, Newsom also that Gilead Sciences, a Bay Area biopharmaceutical giant, recently broke ground on a new pharmaceutical manufacturing center as part of its broader $847 million investment to expand its Foster City headquarters campus.
Once complete in 2029, the Amgen and Gilead facilities are anticipated to support nearly 2,500 new jobs, and strengthen the region’s role as a leader in biotechnology, according to Newsom.