Roche is the fifth big drugmaker this year to promise to significantly boost its U.S. manufacturing capacity, following Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Merck & Co. and Novartis. All told, the five have committed more than $160 billion to U.S. drug production in the coming years.

Roche’s outlay will create a series of new plants, such as a gene therapy facility in Pennsylvania and an AI-focused R&D hub in Massachusetts. It would also fund expansions and upgrades for existing facilities that make medicines and diagnostics. Those plants are located in Kentucky, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon, Arizona and California.

“Today’s announced investments underscore our long-standing commitment to research, development and manufacturing in the U.S.,” said Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker, in a statement. “We are proud of our 110 year legacy in the United States which has been a key driver for jobs, innovation and the creation of intellectual property in the US, across both our pharmaceutical and diagnostics divisions.”

Pharmaceutical companies are facing the possibility of new tariffs from the Trump administration that could be implemented in the coming weeks. Senior administration officials believe they can use the levies to push drugmakers to “reshore” manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and their key ingredients.

Roche and its peers are trying to get ahead of these threats by announcing new U.S. investments. However,it could be several years before many of these new facilities are completed and have a measurable impact on drug imports.

By: DocMemory
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