Novartis is growing its operations in North Carolina, with the production of a new flagship manufacturing hub that is expected to provide end-to-end manufacturing services.¹ The commitment represents the Big Pharma company’s latest push in not only making sure that all of its drugs are produced domestically in the United States, but done so in an efficient manner.

The strategic investment—a component of the company’s greater mission to investment $23 billion over the next five years toward US infrastructure—is meant to serve as a way to fortify pharma’s US supply chain.

New facilities strengthen biologics, gene therapy, and solid dosage capabilities

Novartis’ latest moves in North Carolina will feature:

• The construction of a new site in Durham, including two new facilities that’ll prioritize biologics production, along with sterile packaging
• Growing the services of the current Durham plant—featuring gene therapy production as it stands—by expanding its services to include the sterile filling of biologics into syringes and vials
• A Morrisville plant that will contain one facility for solid dosage tablet and capsule production, including packaging processes

A unified 700,000-square-foot manufacturing campus by 2027–2028

Together, the new and existing facilities will create a single hub, expanding capabilities to produce medicines across the company’s main therapeutic areas: oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic.

By integrating the new and future facilities, Novartis is aiming to establish one unified manufacturing hub that is expected to be ready for 2027-2028, totaling more than 700,000 square feet among the current and new facilities, simplifying yet enhancing the company’s ability to produce treatments across its main therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular, immunology, metabolic, neuroscience, oncology, and renal diseases. Having the plants be located close to one another will allow for the teams and production stages to operate more seamlessly.

The new investments are also anticipated create 700 new Novartis jobs, along with more than 3,000 indirect jobs across the supply chain by the end of the decade.

“This announcement is a commitment to American innovation and to the patients we serve,” said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis. “By building a full, end-to-end manufacturing presence in North Carolina for our broader portfolio, we are expanding our capacity to deliver medical breakthroughs, securing a more resilient US supply chain, and investing in the local communities that make our mission possible.”

Broader US manufacturing strategy spans CGT, xRNA, and radioligand therapies

Currently, Novartis is now set up to manufacture various forms of tech in the US via:

• CGTs that are produced in both Morris Plains, NJ, and Durham, NC
• xRNA therapies to be manufactured at a new facility at a location that is TBD until announced in the near future
• Radioligand therapies whose plants span from the East to West coasts, with plants located in Millburn, NJ, Indianapolis, IN, and Carlsbad, CA, along with two additional sites in the works for Florida and Texas

Novartis’ aforementioned Carlsbad plant spans 10,000 square feet and is intended to help the company prepare for future demand—as noted by the boost in capacity—enhancing its supply chain services in the process.²

RLTs are a type of precision medicine that connect a tumor-targeting molecule—also known as a ligand, to a therapeutic radioisotope—which allows radiation to be delivered directly to cancer cells, while also limiting harm to any surrounding healthy tissue. Being that each RLT dose is custom-made and highly time-sensitive (its radioactive half-life is measured in only hours), proximity to treatment centers and transportation hubs are critical in order to ensure patients receive therapy both quickly and safely.

Onshoring momentum grows amid tariffs and supply chain pressures

Efforts to onshore manufacturing are continuing to become a bit more commonplace, as a way to combat tariffs that were enacted by the current administration.

This week, as a way to increased is drug product manufacturing in the US, Moderna announced³ a new $140 million investment in its onshore manufacturing that’ll bring its manufacturing capabilities to its Norwood, MA Moderna Technology Center (MTC), which is anticipated to be completed by H1 2027.

"By onshoring drug product manufacturing to our campus in Norwood, Massachusetts, we have completed the full manufacturing loop under one roof in the US," commented Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO. "As an American company committed to building and producing in America, we are proud to strengthen our domestic footprint while bringing meaningful new jobs to the community."

References

1. Novartis Announces Plans to Build Flagship Manufacturing Hub in North Carolina. Novartis. November 19, 2025. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.novartis.com/us-en/news/media-releases/novartis-announces-plans-build-flagship-manufacturing-hub-north-carolina

2. Saraceno N. Novartis Expands US Footprint With New Radioligand Therapy Manufacturing Facility in California. Pharmaceutical Commerce. November 12, 2025. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/view/novartis-expands-us-footprint-new-radioligand-therapy-manufacturing-facility-california

3. Jacobus N. Moderna Investing $140 Million in Massachusetts Manufacturing Facility. Pharmaceutical Executive. November 19, 2025. Accessed November 20, 2025. https://www.pharmexec.com/view/moderna-investing-140-million-massachusetts-manufacturing-facility