Merck Investing $3.5B in Rahway HQ, $3B in Elkton, Va.

On Oct 20, 2025

Merck began construction for a $3 billion, 400,000-square-foot Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing facility at its Elkton, Virginia, site. Additionally, the company will also invest more than $3.5 billion in its Rahway headquarters, which is expected to create roughly 1,000 jobs across research and clinical manufacturing.

The initiatives are part of a more than $70 billion investment beginning in 2025 to expand domestic manufacturing and research and development — not including any future business development transactions in R&D — to drive Merck’s long-term growth and strengthen the status of the U.S. as a global leader in biopharmaceutical innovation.

The company’s efforts across the U.S. will further fortify domestic production and distribution of U.S. medicines and vaccines to protect patients and are forecasted to create more than 48,000 construction-related employment opportunities by 2029.

“Today is an important milestone for Merck, for Virginia, for manufacturing in the United States and, most importantly, for the patients we serve,” said Robert M. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. “This investment helps advance our goal of providing new, innovative treatment options for people facing serious health challenges in the U.S. and around the world.”

The $3 billion expansion continues Merck’s nearly 85-year history in Elkton, Virginia, as the company enhances the site with a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical Center of Excellence that will include both Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient and Drug Product investment supporting small molecule manufacturing and testing and will potentially create more than 500 full-time roles as well as 8,000 construction jobs.

“Merck’s investment announced today shows exactly what happens when pro-growth policies like H.R. 1 are signed into law,” said NAM President and CEO, Jay Timmons. “By strengthening and making permanent a full suite of competitive tax policies, Congress provided manufacturers with the tax certainty we need to plan, invest, hire and lead. Manufacturers will continue to work with policymakers to advance a comprehensive manufacturing strategy that not only helps manufacturers win — it helps America win.”

This year alone, Merck has announced nearly $6 billion in manufacturing investments across North Carolina, Delaware, Kansas and Virginia that are anticipated to create more than 1,600 new American jobs — punctuated by shovels in the ground and ribbon cuttings:

• In March, Merck announced the completion of construction on a $1 billion, 225,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility to expand vaccine production capacity in Durham, North Carolina, expected to generate nearly 400 full-time roles and roughly 4,000 construction jobs.
• In April, the company broke ground on Merck Wilmington Biotech, a $1 billion, 470,000-square-foot state-of-the-art biologics center of excellence in Wilmington, Delaware, to enable the launch and commercial production of next-generation biologics and therapies.
• In May, Merck Animal Health announced the $895 million expansion of its manufacturing facility in De Soto, Kansas, anticipated to create 2,500 construction jobs and more than 200 full-time commercial manufacturing roles.

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