J&J Jacksonville Expansion
Johnson & Johnson invests over $1 billion in Jacksonville to expand ACUVUE Vision operations and create thousands of jobs.
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J&J CEO Joaquin Duato said the investment “reinforces our long-standing conviction that advanced manufacturing in the United States is essential to delivering innovative, high-quality health care solutions to patients at home and around the world.”
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The Jacksonville site already produces most of the company’s Acuvue business—reported as making “90% of the company’s Acuvue contact lenses”—and J&J says it manufactures “more than 1.7 billion ACUVUE contact lenses annually” there.
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J&J described the scale of its existing operations in the city as encompassing “more than 1.5 million square feet of manufacturing, research, distribution and operations facilities,” underscoring that the expansion is a significant ramp-up of an established manufacturing footprint.
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Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan praised the project, calling it a “strong vote of confidence in Jacksonville, our workforce, and our future,” and said it would “strengthen our high-tech footprint while creating quality jobs and long-term opportunities for our community.”
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The eye-care push comes amid specific pharma setbacks: J&J’s flagship drug Stelara faced U.S. patent expiry last year and is now competing with biosimilars, including Amgen’s Wezlana—an environment that Article 5 says is contributing to J&J’s renewed focus on its oncology pipeline (including a $1 billion Firefly Bio acquisition).
Johnson & Johnson is pouring more than $1 billion into Jacksonville, Florida, to expand its ACUVUE contact lens operations — one of the largest single investments in the site's 40-year history. Construction is already underway, with the facility expected to reach full capacity by 2028, according to News4Jax.
The expansion adds a new state-of-the-art distribution center and advanced manufacturing technology to a campus that already spans more than 1.5 million square feet. J&J says it currently produces more than 1.7 billion ACUVUE lenses per year in Jacksonville — roughly 90% of its global output for the brand.
A $55 Billion U.S. Manufacturing Bet Takes Shape
The Jacksonville project is part of a sweeping $55 billion commitment J&J has made to U.S. manufacturing, research, and technology through early 2029, according to Action News Jax. CEO Joaquin Duato said the investment "reinforces our long-standing conviction that advanced manufacturing in the United States is essential to delivering innovative, high-quality health care solutions to patients at home and around the world."
The Jacksonville site supports roughly 3,500 local jobs and contributes an estimated $6 billion annually to Florida's economy. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan called the project a "strong vote of confidence in Jacksonville, our workforce, and our future," adding that it would "strengthen our high-tech footprint while creating quality jobs and long-term opportunities for our community."
Stelara's Patent Cliff Pushes J&J Toward Eye Care
The billion-dollar Vision bet is not happening in a vacuum. J&J's flagship drug Stelara lost U.S. patent protection last year and now faces direct competition from biosimilars — copycat drugs — including Amgen's Wezlana. Stelara once accounted for nearly 20% of J&J's total revenue, and its erosion has forced the company to find growth elsewhere, according to Prism Market View.
In response, J&J is pushing hard on two fronts: eye care and oncology. The company recently acquired Firefly Bio for roughly $1 billion to bolster its cancer drug pipeline. Expanding ACUVUE production in Jacksonville is the other half of that pivot — leaning into a product with high repeat purchases and fewer regulatory hurdles than new drugs.
Jacksonville's 40-Year J&J Footprint Gets Its Biggest Upgrade
J&J's roots in Jacksonville trace back to its 1981 acquisition of Frontier Contact Lenses. Over four decades, the site grew into the backbone of the global ACUVUE supply chain. The new expansion — which includes a 500,000-square-foot automated distribution center — is the largest capital injection the campus has ever received, according to Eyewire.
The city finalized an incentives package with J&J that includes property tax rebates and infrastructure grants. Groundbreaking took place in March 2026. The new manufacturing lines are designed to boost output by 30% per square foot once they come fully online in 2028, according to Head Topics.
Analysts See Smart Hedge, But Skeptics Ask Hard Questions
Wall Street analysts broadly view the move as smart portfolio management. By scaling a proven, high-margin business like Vision, J&J creates a financial cushion against drug-pricing pressure from the Inflation Reduction Act and ongoing biosimilar competition. "J&J is effectively de-risking its portfolio," Morningstar analyst Damien Conover said, noting that contact lenses offer steady, recurring revenue.
Not everyone is convinced the story is purely about growth. Some industry analysts argue this is partly "replacement spending" — J&J must invest just to keep pace with rivals like Alcon and Bausch + Lomb, who are also automating their U.S. plants. Local labor advocates also raised concerns that "advanced manufacturing" often means more robots and fewer entry-level jobs, putting pressure on the city to invest in workforce training alongside the expansion, according to Prism Market View.
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