Roche to Invest $50 Billion in U.S., Add 12,000 Jobs as Trade Challenges Mount

BASEL, April 22, 2025 – Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding AG announced Tuesday it will invest $50 billion in the United States over the next five years, marking one of the sector’s most aggressive moves amid shifting global trade policies. The expansion is expected to create over 12,000 U.S. jobs, primarily in construction and manufacturing, and comes as President Donald Trump signals new tariffs on pharmaceutical imports.

Roche’s investment strategy includes expanding and modernizing facilities across Kentucky, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon and California. It will also construct a new manufacturing plant dedicated to supporting next-generation weight-loss drugs, although the exact location remains undisclosed.

This move mirrors a similar announcement by Swiss rival Novartis AG, which earlier this month committed $23 billion to U.S. operations, citing the need to ensure key medications for Americans are made domestically. Roche emphasized that its U.S. footprint will soon allow it to export more drugs from the country than it imports, particularly through its diagnostics division, which already runs at a trade surplus.

Shares of Roche slipped 0.7% by mid-morning trading in Switzerland, though the stock remains up 12% over the past year, outperforming the Bloomberg Europe Pharmaceutical Index. 

Industry analysts view Roche’s move as part of a broader realignment of global pharma strategy. European drugmakers have warned that the U.S.—already the largest pharmaceutical market—offers more favorable conditions, such as easier access to capital, stronger intellectual property protections, faster regulatory approvals, and a culture that more actively rewards innovation.

Roche’s U.S. expansion builds on decades of engagement in the country, including its ownership of San Francisco-based Genentech, a leading developer of cancer and biotech therapies. The company currently employs over 25,000 people in the U.S., and its new initiatives further deepen that relationship.

In addition to the new weight-loss drug facility, Roche reaffirmed plans to:

1. Construct a gene therapy manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania

2. Build a new R&D center in Massachusetts

3. Open a continuous-glucose monitoring facility in Indiana

4. Upgrade existing pharma and diagnostics R&D hubs in Arizona, Indiana, and California

A Roche spokesperson confirmed that “construction is either ongoing or just getting started” at several of the announced sites.

As global pharmaceutical supply chains brace for political and economic disruptions, Roche’s investment underscores a growing trend: life sciences firms are moving closer to their largest customer base — the United States — not just for profit, but for security, agility, and influence.

This marks a clear pivot point in how major drugmakers position themselves for the future — building not just drugs, but trust, resilience, and strategic depth in a marketplace that now demands far more than innovation alone.

Roche’s investment strategy includes expanding and modernizing facilities across Kentucky, Indiana, New Jersey, Oregon and California. It will also construct a new manufacturing plant dedicated to supporting next-generation weight-loss drugs, although the exact location remains undisclosed.