AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg
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Explore Gaithersburg
As one of AstraZeneca’s six strategic R&D centers, our Gaithersburg campus has the capabilities and capacity to discover, develop, manufacture, and commercialise potentially life-changing medicines – all at one site.
Spanning more than 1.3 million square feet in total, including more than 465,000 square feet of lab and manufacturing space, this campus and our surrounding manufacturing sites in Maryland make Gaithersburg integral to our success.
Gaithersburg key facts
6,000+
465,000 sq ft
$4.6 billion
Gaithersburg impact
$10 million
29,000+
1,900+
Our science
Cell therapy
Our discovery teams are pioneering a range of innovative next-generation cell therapies, spanning autologous, allogeneic, and in vivo approaches, with the goal to extend the potential for cures of long-lasting remission across multiple therapy areas. Our end-to-end approach brings discovery, process development, manufacturing, and supply teams together to enhance collaboration and efficiency. To meet the growing global demand for cell therapies, we are building state-of-the art capabilities in the US and China. Our new $300 million facility in Rockville, Maryland – just minutes from our Gaithersburg site – will support manufacturing for critical cancer and immunology trials and the launch of our commercial cell therapy platforms.
Target discovery
We collaborate to support the identification and validation of therapeutic targets that drive disease. Using a variety of technology, including multi-omic and bio-informatic approaches, our scientists aim to discover novel targets that can become potentially life-changing medicines.
Protein engineering
We apply cutting-edge technology in the discovery of novel therapeutic biologics, a core part of our pipeline, due to their ability to target disease at the molecular level and their versatile application across therapy areas. Our teams work collaboratively to deploy innovative in-house platforms with an exceptional track record of delivery, having discovered and engineered nearly 100 protein therapeutics that have entered the clinic.
Biopharmaceutical development
We develop the process and analytics to produce and characterize therapeutic candidates, including the formulations for delivering medicines to patients. Working collaboratively, our teams help define and select drug candidates to progress into development.
Clinical development
We deliver global, late‑stage clinical trials across our pipeline and design early‑phase strategies and exploratory studies that build the credentials of novel targets, leveraging both internal and external programme and study management expertise.
Gaithersburg is a critically important strategic center for AstraZeneca. In fact, it’s one of the only sites where every single aspect of our business is represented – from development and manufacturing to commercialization, and like all our sites where we are pioneering sustainability practices. Everything AstraZeneca has to offer, all in one place.
Our Gaithersburg campus is at the forefront of scientific innovation — driving meaningful breakthroughs across our therapy areas. Our dedicated teams combine cutting-edge science and technology to push the boundaries of what’s possible to help transform patient care worldwide. Our scientists work in a collaborative, diverse environment where they have opportunities to apply their expertise, learn from world-class leaders, and help shape the future of medicine.
Science in action
Our Gaithersburg culture
Our activity-based workspaces include focus rooms, collaboration hubs, brainstorming suites and more to suit all working styles while increasing collaboration and interaction between teams.
We believe employees benefit from being invigorated, challenged and inspired at work. We offer everything from treadmill stations for productivity gains to game rooms for brain breaks. We also offer Zen gardens, onsite massages, and regular campus-wide happy hours – supporting different energy levels and ways to connect.
We take pride in our mission to produce innovative, potentially life‑changing medications and are pursuing this mission in a sustainable manner. Through our Ambition Zero Carbon initiative, we integrate energy‑improvement strategies into our facilities, operations, design, and procurement practices using the ISO 50001 Energy Management System.
As the Chair of our Site Leadership Team, I can clearly see how AstraZeneca is ensuring Gaithersburg is a vibrant, innovation-focused environment for our people to achieve our Bold Ambition. Our dedicated teams are making a difference in the lives of patients, their families and the wider Maryland community through our STEM and outreach efforts.
In Gaithersburg, one of our flagship campuses in the US, we are embedding sustainable science into everything we do—innovating boldly while reducing our environmental footprint. From powering our operations with renewable natural gas, to managing waste with a circular mindset and mitigating our impact on local biodiversity, this campus shows how we can help accelerate the delivery of potentially life-changing medicines and advance our commitment to sustainability, side by side.
Veeva ID: Z4-79902
Date of preparation: March 2026