AstraZeneca will invest $50 billion in the U.S. as it seeks to avoid Trump's tariffs
The investment is expected to create tens of thousands of new, highly-skilled direct and indirect jobs across the country
Getty Images / Bloomberg
AstraZeneca today announced it will invest $50 billion in the U.S. by 2030 to fund manufacturing and research and development (R&D). The investment is expected to create tens of thousands of new, highly-skilled direct and indirect jobs across the country, the company said in a statement.
Suggested Reading
The cornerstone of the investment is a new multi-billion dollar manufacturing facility in Virginia that will produce substances used in the company’s weight management and metabolic portfolio. This includes GLP-1, the substance used in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, which AstraZeneca has been seeking to replicate. The facility would be AstraZeneca’s largest single manufacturing investment in the world and will leverage artificial intelligence and robotics to optimize production.
Related Content
“Today’s announcement underpins our belief in America’s innovation in biopharmaceuticals and our commitment to the millions of patients who need our medicines in America and globally,” Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca CEO, said in a statement. Shares in AstraZeneca rose 2% at market open.
The investment will also go towards expanding manufacturing in Maryland, Texas, Indiana, and California, plus growing R&D centres, research into novel medicines, and new sites to supply clinical trials
Tuesday’s investment builds on the $3.5 billion AstraZeneca announced in November 2024. It hopes collectively these investments will help it to deliver its goal of reaching $80 billion in revenue by the end of the decade, with 50% generated in the U.S., according to the company statement.
AstraZeneca is the latest pharmaceutical company to pledge billions in domestic manufacturing in recent months, joining the likes of Biogen, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, and Roche. So far this year, pharma companies have pledged to invest $231.3 billion in the U.S. in the coming years.
The flurry of fresh capital could be seen as an attempt to appease President Donald Trump. During a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, Trump said a pharma tariff of up to 200% is coming “very soon." This could prove catastrophic for drug prices. Non-branded drugs account for 90% of prescriptions filled in the U.S., and around 70-80% of these generics are imported from China and India.
“For decades Americans have been reliant on foreign supply of key pharmaceutical products. President Trump and our nation’s new tariff policies are focused on ending this structural weakness,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. “We are proud that AstraZeneca has made the decision to bring substantial pharmaceutical production to our shores.”