The news: Roche is undertaking $50 billion over five years in new US pharma manufacturing and R&D. It plans to expand and upgrade facilities in five states. Roche and its US business arm Genentech will plan new manufacturing plants for continuous glucose monitoring and still-under-development weight loss medicines.

Roche’s investment also includes previously announced projects like a Harvard-based R&D hub. When complete, Roche said it will flip to a majority exporter of US medicines.

Driving the news: Pharmaceuticals are exempt from current tariffs, but President Trump has threatened 25% or higher drug tariffs. The industry expects to see tariffs from 10% to 25% around mid-May, with many lobbying for a phased-in rollout, per Reuters.

Roche joins a growing group of drugmakers pledging to build and expand US production capability under pressure from the Trump administration.

• Novartis this month promised to spend $23 billion on seven new US facilities plus three expansions.
• In March, Johnson & Johnson said it will invest $55 billion over four years on R&D, technology and manufacturing in the US.
• In February, Eli Lilly added $27 billion to its already committed $23 billion in US manufacturing investments.

Yes, but: Pharma US manufacturing was already underway, spurred in part by COVID-19 pandemic supply-chain disruptions.

• Lilly’s US investments stretch back to 2020, for instance, with newer plans dedicated to GLP-1 diabetes and weight loss drugs amid booming demand.
• J&J’s was also already spending, but did bump 25% higher than the previous four years.

Yes, and: The tariff threat underscores moves to regionalize manufacturing. Global regionalization by pharma to manufacture drugs and vaccines nearer to areas where they’re used is more widespread than US reshoring, according to Leerink analysts per Pharma Manufacturing.

The takeaway: Trump isn’t the first president to push for more US drug manufacturing. Former President Joe Biden promoted public-private partnerships and funding, including $60 million for US active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production.

However, Trump’s newer tariff threats are spurring larger and more publicized pharma manufacturing commitments, emphasizing both the need for more secure supply chains and the power of tariffs.

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