The announcement follows another Swiss pharmaceutical company that recently revealed a $23 billion investment in the US.
The investment is “expected to create more than 12,000 new jobs, including nearly 6,500 construction jobs and 1,000 jobs in new and expanded facilities.”
As part of the investment, gene therapy facilities will be opened in a new manufacturing facility for ongoing glucose monitoring in Pennsylvania and Indiana, as well as a 900,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that will support the company’s weight loss health portfolio.
A new research and development (R&D) center for Massachusetts is also being planned. It aims to carry out “state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) research” and serves as a “hub of new cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism research and development efforts.”
The manufacturing and distribution capacity of California, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey and Oregon will be expanded and upgraded.
Existing Pharmaceutical and Diagnostic R&D Centers in Arizona, California and Indiana also see “critical” expansions and upgrades.
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Novartis said the investment would allow the company to end-to-end production of 100% of its major drugs in the country.
Drug duties are also included on the card.
According to Roche, after the expanded new manufacturing capacity arrives online, the company expects to export more drugs from the US than imports.
“The investment announced today highlights our longstanding commitment to research, development and manufacturing in the United States,” said Thomas Cinecker, CEO of Roche Group.
“Our investment of US$50 billion over the next five years will lay the foundation for the next era of innovation and growth, benefiting patients in the US and around the world.”
Pharmaceutical Tariffs
In a speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee on April 8, Trump said drug tariffs would be implemented soon.
“And if we do it, they’ll hurry back to our country because we’re a big market,” he said.
“What we’re more advantageous than everyone is that we’re a big market. So we’re going to announce major tariffs on drugs soon. And when they hear that, they leave China and they’re selling here, so they’re leaving elsewhere.”
The investigation was launched under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. This allows the President to implement tariffs on imports that are deemed a threat to national security.
The bank estimated that the US consumed about $560 billion worth of medicines last year, of which about $200 million (36%) was imported.
“In recent years, Ireland has been a major US import partner, followed by Germany and Switzerland. These are countries that are particularly hard hit when the threat comes to life,” Ing said.
