Haleon invests over £43mn to upgrade its Richmond R&D facility

Haleon’s Weybridge site in the UK is set to open a global oral health innovation centre in 2027

Haleon is enhancing its research and development (R&D) capabilities and accelerating its new product innovation pipeline with a $54 million (£43.49 million) investment in its global R&D centre of excellence in Richmond, Virginia, USA.

This investment is in addition to the company’s annual R&D budget of approximately £300 million.

The Richmond site, one of Haleon’s three global R&D centres of excellence, alongside facilities in Weybridge, UK, and Suzhou, China, provides the global scale necessary for the company to deliver disruptive and locally relevant brand innovations across over 170 markets worldwide.

The upgraded facility will feature new, state-of-the-art laboratories designed to enable development of innovations across ingredients, formulations, flavours, formats and packaging for Haleon’s Over-the-Counter (OTC) and Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements (VMS) categories.

Franck Riot, Haleon’s chief R&D officer, emphasised the critical role of R&D in the company’s success, stating, “R&D is the cornerstone of our business and the innovation engine behind our category-leading brands.”

“Consumers trust our products because they trust our science - so investing in R&D is vital for driving consumer preference for our brands.”

Riot noted that this significant investment will further expand their R&D and innovation capabilities, allowing them to deliver better everyday health to millions of consumers globally.

In addition to this new investment, Haleon’s Weybridge site in the UK is set to open a global oral health innovation centre in 2027. The company announced a £130 million investment for the new centre in October 2024.

Haleon’s global R&D centre of excellence in Richmond, US

The Richmond site, established in the 1960s, has evolved through various mergers and acquisitions. In recent years, the site has expanded its scope and increased its workforce by 100 team members since 2020.

Many of Haleon’s top brands, including Advil, Emergen-C, and Robitussin, have either been created or grown at the site.

Haleon’s critical technical functions are based at this site including consumer science, formulation development, process scale up, analytical test method development, microbiology, product stability, packaging design, and clinical supplies.