Roche offers $50 billion to US pharma production in response to the tariff threat

Roche, the drugmaker giant, announced its interest in investing $50 billion over five years in new and existing facilities across multiple states to expand U.S. drug production.
Roche announced this capital investment during an uncertain period involving U.S. trade policies destabilizing global commerce and affecting biopharmaceutical companies. Roche declared its intention to construct facilities for obesity medications, gene therapies, and continuous glucose monitoring devices alongside building a new research and development center. Several current facilities belonging to Roche will be expanded under their strategic development plan.
Roche plans to use the investment money to create a drug export surplus from America, which matches the existing diagnostic product export model.
This year marks the fifth pharmaceutical giant to promise major increases in its U.S. drug manufacturing facilities after Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Merck & Co., and Novartis. The combined investments of the five companies amount to more than $160 billion for American drug manufacturing throughout the next few years.

These projects include creating gene therapy production facilities in Pennsylvania and building an AI research center in Massachusetts under Roche’s planned investment. The funds will finance operational improvements for current manufacturing sites, which produce pharmaceuticals as well as medical diagnostic equipment. The pharmaceutical facilities operated by those companies exist throughout Kentucky, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon, Arizona, and California.
Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker announced in his statement that the company maintains robust support for U.S. research and development, along with manufacturing activities. Roche stands with pride as a company that has maintained operations in the United States since 1913, which serves as the essential foundation for building jobs and innovations while establishing intellectual property throughout all branches of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics in America.
The Trump administration plans to introduce new pharmaceutical tariffs on pharmaceutical companies, which may take effect within the upcoming weeks. Senior White House officials intend to impose levies on pharmaceutical companies to force them to bring back essential drug manufacturing operations and raw material production to U.S. facilities.
Pharmaceutical companies like Roche, together with their peers, attempt to counter coming threats by making new investment announcements in the United States. The completion of these new facilities, together with their drug import reduction effect, will take several years to materialize.

The Vacaville biologics manufacturing facility of Roche was sold to Lonza under a $1.2 billion transaction in 2024. The closing of facilities led to total cost expenditures amounting to 827 million Swiss francs or $940 million during 2024 for the company. Roche invested 1.7 billion Swiss francs in the pharmaceutical division’s property, plants, and equipment, and dedicated 1.8 billion Swiss francs to equivalent costs with its diagnostics business.