Novartis Commits $23 Bn to US Healthcare Infrastructure Over Five Years

The move aims to ensure that all key Novartis medicines for US patients are manufactured domestically.

Global pharmaceutical company Novartis has announced a $23 billion investment plan over the next five years to build and expand its healthcare infrastructure in the United States. 

The move aims to ensure that all key Novartis medicines for US patients are manufactured domestically.

According to the company, the investment will support expanding its current network of 10 US-based facilities and creating seven new ones. This will include four new manufacturing plants, two radioligand therapy (RLT) facilities in Florida and Texas, and a biomedical research hub in San Diego, California.

The manufacturing infrastructure will cover the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and biologics drug substances, along with secondary production and packaging. The expansion is expected to generate nearly 1,000 direct jobs at Novartis and an estimated 4,000 additional jobs across the US.

R&D and Radioligand Therapy Expansion

A key investment component is a $1.1 billion biomedical research centre in San Diego, which will become Novartis’ second global R&D hub in the US. It is expected to open between 2028 and 2029 and support drug discovery operations alongside existing hubs in Cambridge, MA, and Basel, Switzerland.

The infrastructure expansion also includes scaling up radioligand therapy production. The company will build two new RLT manufacturing facilities and expand three existing ones in Indianapolis, IN, Millburn, NJ, and Carlsbad, CA. Novartis has previously established dedicated supply chain and production networks to support RLT, a therapeutic area in growing demand.

“With new manufacturing capacity, Novartis will be able to produce 100% of its key medicines end-to-end in the US, a significant increase from current levels,” the company said.

Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan stated, “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 US's pro-innovation policy and regulatory environment that supports our ability to find the next medical breakthroughs for patients.”

The company also noted that its manufacturing pipeline will now include small molecules, biologics, cell and gene therapies, and siRNA technology, the latter of which will be produced in the US for the first time.

The total investment in US operations, including ongoing and planned projects, is expected to reach nearly $50 billion over five years.