Less than a month after announcing a $50 billion investment in its U.S. operations over the next five years, Swiss pharma giant Roche RHHBY has started rolling out the details of its plans.

RHHBY unveiled plans to invest over $700 million in a new 700,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art drug manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, NC. Through this new plant, the company intends to support its pipeline of next-generation obesity drugs for Genentech, a member of the Roche group.

Roche expects the project to generate over 1,500 construction jobs and more than 400 high-wage, permanent positions once it is operational. In a press release, Roche mentioned that it could further expand the initial investment in this plant based on "business needs and the US policy environment."

RHHBY also announced plans to expand its diagnostic site in Indianapolis. In this regard, it plans to spend up to $550 million by 2030 to establish the site as "a major hub for the manufacturing" of the company’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems. Per Roche, this expansion will "create hundreds of jobs while also enhancing U.S. production capabilities."

RHHBY Stock Performance

Year to date, shares of Roche have risen 13% against the industry’s 6% decline.Zacks Investment Research

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Here’s Why RHHBY is Expanding Its Manufacturing Presence in US

These investments reflect Roche’s broader commitment to strengthening its U.S. infrastructure amid Trump’s proposed tariffs on pharmaceutical imports. The company’s U.S. footprint currently includes 13 manufacturing and 15 R&D sites across its Pharmaceutical and Diagnostics Divisions in eight states.

Trump has announced plans to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical imports (which have been largely exempt until now) to incentivize drugmakers to relocate their operations to the United States. He stated that the United States offers a very big market, and the new tariffs will propel pharmaceutical companies to rush back to the country.

Per reports, the United States imports large amounts of finished drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from other countries.

Big Pharma Commits Over $100B to US Expansion

Similar to Roche, several other large pharmaceutical companies have earmarked investments to expand their manufacturing presence in the country.

Eli Lilly LLY was one of the first pharma companies to unveil investment plans. In February, LLY announced plans to invest $27 billion in building four new manufacturing sites in the United States in 2025, bringing its total domestic manufacturing expansion commitments since 2020 to more than $50 billion. Previously, from 2020 to 2024, Lilly committed more than $23 billion to domestic capital expansion. The increased manufacturing investment can boost production capacity for its medicines, particularly its popular GLP-1 products, Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Story Continues

J&J JNJ has committed more than $55 billion in the country over the next four years to boost manufacturing, R&D and technology. This represents a 25% increase in investment compared to the previous four years. JNJ believes that the U.S. economic impact of the increased U.S. investment will exceed $100 billion a year. J&J’s investments begin with the groundbreaking of a high-tech 500,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art biologics manufacturing facility in North Carolina.

Last month, Novartis NVS announced a planned $23 billion investment over five years in U.S.-based infrastructure. Backed by this investment, NVS intends to manufacture all key drugs for its U.S. patients in the country. Over the next five years, Novartis will establish a biomedical research innovation hub in San Diego, CA, its second global R&D hub in the country, expected to open during 2028-2029. Novartis will build four new manufacturing facilities across three states.

Roche Holding AG PriceRoche Holding AG Price

Roche Holding AG price | Roche Holding AG Quote

RHHBY’s Zacks Rank

Roche currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Novartis AG (NVS):Free Stock Analysis Report

Roche Holding AG (RHHBY):Free Stock Analysis Report

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ):Free Stock Analysis Report

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY):Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research