AstraZeneca opens $1 billion R&D center in Cambridge

AstraZeneca announced on October 5, 2026, the opening of its newest global strategic research and development center in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The project is part of an investment of more than $1 billion in the state, which forms part of a broader $50 billion commitment across the United States.

The 18-story, 570,000-square-foot facility at 290 Binney Street features ten floors of interconnected laboratories equipped with robotics, continuous automation, and agentic artificial intelligence. Combined with its genomic medicine site at 100 Binney Street, the hub will host nearly 2,000 researchers working on oncology, cell therapy, biologics, rare diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obesity, and metabolic conditions.

The expansion will increase AstraZeneca's workforce in Massachusetts by over 50% in the coming years. Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, noted that Kendall Square is a vital innovation ecosystem where the company plans to discover scientific breakthroughs to drive growth beyond 2030.

The Kendall Square site adds to AstraZeneca's R&D footprint across more than 40 countries, joining its other US strategic research facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Across the country, the drugmaker operates 24 R&D, manufacturing, commercial, and corporate sites, employing more than 25,000 people and supporting nearly 100,000 jobs nationwide.