Just two years after opening its flagship U.S. manufacturing campus in Hopewell Township, BeOne Medicines announced Thursday that it plans to invest another $300 million at the site, adding approximately 120 full-time jobs and pushing its total investment in the Princeton West Innovation Campus beyond $1 billion.
The project includes a new three-story, 145,000-square-foot building adjacent to the company’s existing facilities. BeOne expects to break ground during the first half of 2027, with the facility targeted to become fully operational in 2029.
The new building will include drug manufacturing and packaging operations, quality control laboratories, offices and space reserved for future growth. Once completed, the BeOne campus will encompass approximately 545,000 square feet.
Hopewell Township Mayor David Chait called the investment and accompanying jobs “a real boon for the community” and evidence that both the township and New Jersey remain attractive places for companies to grow.
“We’re just thrilled to deepen our relationship with BeOne,” Chait said. “This investment, both in terms of the facility as well as the 120 jobs, is a real boon for the community and a real testament that Hopewell Township and New Jersey as a whole is a great place to do business.”
The expansion is the latest chapter in the transformation of the former Bristol-Myers Squibb campus, which has evolved from a single corporate headquarters into a growing life sciences campus housing multiple biotechnology companies.
Who is BeOne?
Although BeOne opened its Hopewell manufacturing campus in 2024, BeOne Medicines is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies focused exclusively on cancer treatments.
Headquartered in Switzerland, the company researches, develops and manufactures cancer medicines for blood cancers as well as lung, breast, gynecologic, gastrointestinal and other cancers. It employs approximately 12,000 people across six continents, and the company says its medicines have been used to treat roughly 2 million patients worldwide.
The Hopewell campus serves as BeOne’s flagship U.S. manufacturing and clinical research and development center.
New manufacturing capacity
BeOne’s existing Hopewell operation supports clinical and commercial-stage manufacturing of biologic cancer therapies. The expansion will add the ability to manufacture small-molecule drug products, including tablets, making the campus a more fully integrated manufacturing center.
The new building will contain one small-molecule manufacturing line, with additional space prepared for a future expansion. It will also include the operations needed to manufacture and package finished medicines.
BeOne said the additional capacity will support its growing hematology portfolio and broader oncology pipeline, which includes more than 35 clinical- and commercial-stage assets. Medicines produced at the site are expected to serve patients in the United States and around the world.
“This expansion is part of BeOne’s long-term strategy to strengthen manufacturing and supply chain capabilities as its portfolio and pipeline continue to grow,” the company said in response to questions from MercerMe.
The project is part of the original master plan for the 42-acre campus, which was designed with more than 1 million square feet of potential development space.
Although the expansion is still in its early planning and design stages, it will have to move through Hopewell Township’s regular approval process, including review by the Planning Board, Chait said.
“This is step one of, as we all know when there is construction, a multi-step process,” he said. “Everything goes through the typical channels and processes that we have, including, of course, going before the Planning Board.”
BeOne said it does not anticipate noticeable changes to the surrounding community but does not yet have additional details about utilities, infrastructure, traffic or other site considerations.
Jobs and workforce partnerships
The company said the expansion is expected to create approximately 120 full-time positions, including manufacturing technicians, quality control analysts, manufacturing scientists, production supervisors and managers, warehousing coordinators and other operational roles.
BeOne currently employs approximately 160 people at the Hopewell campus and expects the workforce there to reach approximately 240 by the end of 2029. Hiring will occur as the project advances toward completion.
As a condition of the state incentive supporting the project, BeOne will also be required to develop a partnership with a New Jersey workforce development organization or educational institution. The company said it looks forward to working with local colleges and other organizations as hiring begins.
State approves $33.9 million incentive
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved a $33.9 million award for the project through the Next New Jersey Manufacturing Program. The award will be provided over five years.
According to the NJEDA, BeOne selected New Jersey after conducting a nationwide search for the location of its new small-molecule manufacturing operation.
BeOne Chief Financial Officer Aaron Rosenberg said state support and federal tax policies encouraging domestic pharmaceutical production helped make the expansion possible.
“Every patient with cancer deserves innovative, high-quality medicines, and this expansion strengthens our ability to deliver them faster, reliably and at scale,” Rosenberg said in the NJEDA announcement.
The company’s initial $800 million facility opened in July 2024 and serves as its flagship U.S. manufacturing and clinical research and development operation.
A campus continuing to evolve
The latest expansion is also part of a broader transformation of the former Bristol-Myers Squibb property from a largely single-company campus into a multi-tenant center for pharmaceutical and biotechnology businesses.
Chait described that transition as “a fantastic story of revitalization and economic growth.”
“Multi-corporate and multi-company facilities really are a wave of innovation and a wave of the future,” he said. “The more similar types of businesses in the broader medical-pharmaceutical space, the more it’s a great place to build and grow a business like that.”
He said the combination of existing companies, cooperation with the township and the region’s skilled workforce could attract additional investment.
“I would expect that the combination of the strength of the companies that are here, the successful partnerships in working with the township, as well as just the incredible pool of talent locally, that we’ll likely see a lot more growth,” Chait said. “It just builds upon itself.”
BeOne said it has also become involved in the Hopewell Valley community through event sponsorships and other activities and expects those relationships to grow alongside the campus.
“They’ve been a great partner in our community beyond just the economic impact of their facilities,” Chait said, pointing to the company’s support of township events, including the annual tree lighting. “They’ve been a great community partner through and through.”
Before construction begins, the expansion will move through Hopewell Township’s land use approval process, including review by the Planning Board.
