Novartis to expand U.S. manufacturing, R&D footprint with $23B investment

Novartis announced today that it plans to invest $23 billion over five years to expand its U.S.-based infrastructure.

The company said its investment aims to ensure all key Novartis medicines for U.S. patients will be made in the U.S. Its financial commitment enables the company to expand on its current pharmaceutical manufacturing, research and technology presence across the company. This includes 10 facilities, with seven of them brand new, creating nearly 1,000 jobs at Novartis and about 4,000 additional U.S. jobs. Production capacity covers both active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and biologics drug substance, plus secondary production and packaging.

Novartis plans to establish a $1.1 billion biomedical research innovation hub in San Diego, creating its second global R&D hub in the U.S. The company expects to complete this complex between 2028 and 2029. Serving as the epicenter of the Novartis West Coast Biomedical Research presence, it complements existing hubs in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Basel, Switzerland.

It also plans to build four new manufacturing facilities in soon-to-be-determined states. Three of those will make biologics drug substances, drug products, device assembly and packaging. The company plans for the remaining facility to make chemical drug substances, oral solids dosage forms and packaging.

Other plans include the building of two new radioligand therapy (RLT) manufacturing facilities in Florida and Texas. Novartis also intends to expand three RLT manufacturing plants in Indianapolis, Millburn, New Jersey, and Carlsbad, California.

With its investments, Novartis said its manufacturing capacity in the U.S. can cater to all core technology platforms. It brings its internal siRNA technology manufacturing to the U.S. for the first time, too.

“As a Swiss-based company with a significant presence in the US, these investments will enable us to fully bring our supply chain and key technology platforms into the US to support our strong US growth outlook. These investments also reflect the pro-innovation policy and regulatory environment in the US that supports our ability to find the next medical breakthroughs for patients,” said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis. “We are prepared for shifts in the external environment and fully confident in our 2025 guidance, mid- to long-term sales growth outlook and 2027 core margin guidance of 40%+.”