Pharmaceutical giant Roche has announced its plans to invest $50bn into its US operations in the next five years.
This follows the Trump Administration's threats to remove pharmaceuticals from the current tariff exemption list, which has prompted many big pharma players such as Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis to invest in the mey market.
Roche already has a significant footprint in the US, with 13 manufacturing and 15 R&D sites across its Pharmaceutical and Diagnostics divisions.
The investment will create more than 1,000 high-skill jobs across a range of new and expanded facilities, including:
- The upgrade and extension of its medicines and diagnostics distribution capacity throughout the US — with sites in Kentucky, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon and California
- A new gene therapy manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania
- 900,000 sqft manufacturing centre for the production of next-gen weight loss medications
- A novel manufacturing facility based in Indiana for continuous glucose monitoring
- A cardiovascular, renal and metabolic R&D centre in Massachusetts
- The expansion and upgrade of existing pharmaceutical centres in Arizona, Indiana and California.
Once the Roche completes these projects, the company will export more medicines from the US than it imports.
"Roche is a Swiss company with a strong presence in more than 130 countries globally," stated Thomas Shinecker, CEO of the Roche Group.
"These investments will allow us to further commit to R&D and manufacturing in the US, which is a key market for us."
"Our 110 year legacy in the US has been a key driver for jobs, innovation and the creation of intellectual property in the US — through both our pharmaceutical and diagnostics divisions."
"Our $50bn investment into our US manufacturing and R&D infrastructure over the next five years will lay the foundation for our next era of growth, benefitting patients in the US and around the world," he concluded.