Editor’s (re)View: Novartis, Moderna, Celltrion lay out plans to add US capacity

It was another busy week for announced investments in U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing. As part of its $23 billion capital expenditure over the next five years, Swiss-headquartered pharma giant Novartis said it is expanding the company’s operations in North Carolina, creating a new flagship manufacturing hub with end-to-end capabilities from producing active pharmaceutical ingredients to final packaging.

Novartis plans to nearly double its operational footprint in North Carolina to more than 700,000 square feet — between the existing campus and new facilities — with the goal of fully manufacturing 100% of its key medicines end-to-end in the U.S.

This week, Moderna announced a more than $140 million investment to bring end-to-end mRNA production to the U.S. Construction has begun at its Moderna Technology Center in Norwood, Massachusetts, with completion expected by the first half of 2027. CEO Stéphane Bancel said that by onshoring drug product manufacturing to its Norwood campus, the American company will be able to produce its mRNA vaccines and therapeutics “under one roof in the U.S.”

Also this week, South Korea-based biosimilars manufacturer Celltrion announced that it plans to expand its U.S. manufacturing capabilities with a $478 million investment in a recently acquired Eli Lilly facility in Branchburg, New Jersey. The expansion at the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) plant will be rolled out in phases and position Celltrion to build an integrated U.S.-based manufacturing supply chain, according to the company.

Celltrion’s contract manufacturing (CMO) business “will be actively expanded around the Branchburg facility, leveraging the growing demand for pharmaceutical production in the U.S.,” Celltrion said in a letter to shareholders. “Under the previously agreed CMO contract with Eli Lilly, revenue generation will begin immediately upon acquisition, allowing for early recovery of investment.”

Earlier this month, commercial real estate firm Newmark released its Q3 2025 U.S. Life Science Market Conditions & Trends report, citing more than $270 billion in new biomanufacturing investment planned by Big Pharma. The report noted that pharma manufacturing production is accelerating as these investments expand.

“The industrial production of pharmaceuticals and medicine, which measures the real output of U.S.-based establishments, continued its upward trajectory through the third quarter of 2025,” according to Newmark. “With more recent gains attributable to the practice of pharmaceutical companies front loading production to mitigate tariff risks, Big Pharma is now looking to grow domestic operations.”