The news: Johnson & Johnson is expanding its US manufacturing presence with a $2 billion investment in North Carolina via a partnership with Fujifilm Biotechnologies.
Why it matters: This is the latest Big Pharma financial pledge to boost US drug production as the industry awaits President Trump's tariffs on the sector. For context, Trump threatened an ultra-high, phased-in 250% import tax on the drug industry earlier this month—perhaps as a tactic to secure further US manufacturing commitments.
- 15 leading pharma companies have committed more than $270 billion in US manufacturing and R&D projects over the next 5 to 10 years, per a recent report from JLL. That figure is likely even higher since not all investment plans get their own announcements.
- J&J noted that the passage of Trump’s megabill was a factor in the company’s latest manufacturing investment, as it provides tax incentives for domestic production.
- J&J also announced a $55 billion investment earlier this year and says it has more manufacturing facilities in the US than any other country.
- The FDA recently rolled out a PreCheck initiative, aimed at helping pharma companies build US manufacturing plants more quickly.
Our first take: Some US builds have been in the works for years, which means pharma is happy to make this good-faith “concession”—especially after seeing the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on global supply chains. Even if Trump changes course on tariffs, or if the next administration has a completely different view, pharma companies won’t regret having more production capability in their biggest market.
This is our immediate perspective. We’re actively developing this story throughout the day with more research and data from the EMARKETER database. Our in-depth analysis will be included in our client-only Briefings. Non-clients can click here to get a demo of our full platform and coverage.
Check out other EMARKETER content related to this story: