AstraZeneca has announced a huge $50 billion investment in the United States by 2030. The company said it will build new drug factories and expand research in six key states. This move comes as former President Donald Trump plans to bring back import tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry.
The British-Swedish drugmaker is reacting fast. Trump wants drug companies to make more medicines inside the country. His new policies could soon make it expensive to import drugs or raw materials from other countries. So AstraZeneca is making sure it stays ahead of the game.
New plants, more jobs, bigger goals
The investment will include a major manufacturing plant in Virginia. This will be AstraZeneca’s biggest drug-making site yet. It will produce key ingredients for weight-loss and cholesterol drugs.
Other states like Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Indiana, and Texas will also see expansions in research labs and cell therapy work. AstraZeneca said it also wants to improve how it runs clinical trials and supplies medicines across the US.
CEO Pascal Soriot revealed the plan during an event in Washington. He said that by 2030, the company wants to reach $80 billion in yearly sales. Half of that, he added, should come from the US alone.
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Tariffs and politics push pharma to rethink
Trump’s return to office has changed the mood in the pharma world. The US has long relied on imported medicine, but now the focus is on local production. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed the government is investigating pharma imports. This could lead to heavy tariffs unless companies move fast.
Soriot made it clear that the US cannot keep paying the world’s research costs. He wants other countries to start paying more for medicines, so that the burden is shared.
AstraZeneca moves with the times
This announcement isn’t just about avoiding tariffs. AstraZeneca said some of the spending was already planned. But the current US policy climate made it the right time to go public.
This $50 billion move adds to the $3.5 billion the company pledged in late 2024. It also matches a similar-sized investment from Swiss rival Roche. Other major drugmakers like Eli Lilly, Novartis, Sanofi, and Johnson & Johnson have all announced big US expansions recently.
Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, a strong Trump supporter, attended the launch and backed the plan. AstraZeneca said the project could create tens of thousands of jobs, though it didn’t give exact numbers.
Back in January, the company scrapped a UK vaccine plant due to lack of government support. Now, with the US looking more attractive, there’s talk that AstraZeneca may even shift its main stock listing to America.
One thing is clear: AstraZeneca is betting big on America. And it’s not alone.
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