Swiss Drugmaker Novartis to Invest $23 Billion to Expand US Manufacturing, Operations

The company plans to build or expand 10 facilities and bring 100 percent of its key medicines’ production inside the United States over five years.

A sign marks Novartis's Institutes for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass., on Jan. 2, 2020. Brian Snyder/Reuters

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis announced on April 10 that it will invest $23 billion over the next five years to expand its U.S. manufacturing and research operations.

The initiative includes the construction or expansion of 10 facilities nationwide, with a focus on building out domestic production capacity for the company’s most important medicines. Novartis said the investment will allow it to manufacture 100 percent of its key drugs end-to-end in the United States—a significant increase from current levels.

“As a Swiss-based company with a significant presence in the U.S., these investments will enable us to fully bring our supply chain and key technology platforms into the U.S. to support our strong U.S. growth outlook,” Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said in a statement. “These investments also reflect the pro-innovation policy and regulatory environment in the U.S. that supports our ability to find the next medical breakthroughs for patients.”

The planned expansion includes four new manufacturing sites in states to be determined, two facilities for cancer-treatment radioligand therapy (RLT) in Florida and Texas, and a new biomedical research hub in San Diego, California. Three existing RLT plants—in California, Indiana, and New Jersey—will also be expanded. The company expects to create nearly 1,000 direct jobs and around 4,000 additional U.S. jobs through the buildout.

The new San Diego research complex, which is expected to open between 2028 and 2029, will serve as the company’s second U.S. research and development hub alongside its Cambridge, Massachusetts, site.

Novartis said the investment supports its broader growth strategy through 2029 and reflects confidence in the U.S. market and regulatory environment.

The announcement follows a growing trend among major pharmaceutical companies that are shifting manufacturing stateside.

Last month, Johnson & Johnson said it would invest more than $55 billion across the United States over four years. The company broke ground on the first of four new facilities—a $2 billion biologics plant in Wilson, North Carolina—which is expected to create thousands of jobs and boost local manufacturing capacity.

Both announcements come amid increased pressure from the Trump administration for drugmakers to scale up domestic operations.

During a speech on Tuesday at the National Republican Congressional Committee, President Donald Trump said that pharmaceutical tariffs will soon be implemented.

“The advantage we have over everybody is that we are the big market. So we’re gonna be announcing, very shortly, a major tariff on pharmaceuticals. And when they hear that, they will leave China, they will leave other places, because most of their products are sold here,” the president said.

Novartis, which currently operates 33 manufacturing sites globally, said the expansion will enhance its ability to deliver advanced therapies—including gene and cell treatments, radioligand therapies, and small-molecule drugs—while also strengthening supply-chain resilience for American patients.

The company also confirmed plans to bring internal production of its small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology to the United States for the first time.

Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.