Merck Animal Health and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly recently announced the $895-million expansion of Merck Animal Health’s manufacturing facility in De Soto, Kan. Site preparation and facility design is starting immediately, creating 2,500 construction jobs. Commercial manufacturing is expected to begin in 2030, creating more than 200 full-time roles.
This marks one of the largest economic development projects in Kansas’ recent history and the largest for Merck Animal Health. The expansion will be constructed on an existing Merck-owned property that is the site of its biologics facility in De Soto. It includes an $860 million investment in the site’s existing manufacturing facility and a further $35 million investment in its research and development laboratories, the company said in a release.
“Our De Soto, Kansas manufacturing facility is strategically located in the heart of the Animal Health Corridor. This region is renowned for its concentration of animal health companies, fostering an unparalleled ecosystem for innovation, collaboration and industry leadership,” Richard DeLuca, president of Merck Animal Health said in a release.
Merck says the 200,000-square-foot manufacturing facility project will expand filling and freeze dryer capacity for large molecule vaccines and biologic products for the company.
“As a Center of Excellence, it will play a pivotal role in the manufacturing of Merck Animal Health’s products and will complement Merck Animal Health’s extensive U.S. and international network of animal health product manufacturing plants,” the company said.
This investment will enhance Merck’s research capabilities, focusing on advancing Merck Animal Health’s global drug discovery and development initiatives. The investment will continue to drive innovative research and development of novel parasiticides and therapeutics.
“This investment in our site is designed to increase Merck Animal Health’s ability to meet the growing customer demand for its portfolio of animal biologics products and ensure the company remains at the forefront of innovation in the animal health sector,” DeLuca said. “This initiative also reflects our dedication to advancing animal health and our on-going investment in the communities where we operate.”
Merck Animal Health is partnering with the state of Kansas on expansion of the existing manufacturing facility. Since the advent of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Merck has allocated more than $12 billion to enhance its domestic manufacturing and research capabilities, with additional planned investments of more than $9 billion by the end of 2028.
“This extraordinary investment by Merck Animal Health underscores my administration’s commitment to securing a strong economic future for our state and ensuring prosperity for generations to come,” Gov. Kelly said in a release. “Public-private partnerships that lead to major global projects, such as those with Merck, Fiserv and Panasonic – just to name a few recent successes – are occurring because people believe in Kansas. They believe in who we are, what we are doing, and the direction we have taken.”
Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland believes the opportunities and ripple effects of having almost $1 billion surge into the local economy will have far-reaching and long-lasting reverberations across the entire state.
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