Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca says that it will invest $50 billion into U.S. manufacturing by 2030, as President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs of up to 200% on imported drugs.
According to The New York Times, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot announced the planned investment on July 21 in Washington, D.C. A manufacturing facility in Virginia will act as one of the central projects of the initiative, in addition to planned facilities in California, Indiana, Maryland and Texas, and expanded research and development operations in Maryland and Massachusetts.
“Today’s announcement underpins our belief in America’s innovation in biopharmaceuticals and our commitment to the millions of patients who need our medicines in America and globally,” Soriot said.
A number of other drugmakers have rolled out similar plans to ramp up manufacturing in the U.S. in recent days, in the face of continued pressure from the Trump administration. That includes a $55 billion investment from Johnson & Johnson announced in March, and $50 billion and $23 billion commitments announced in April by Roche and Novartis respectively.
Exiger estimates that the U.S. imports roughly three-quarters of its essential medicines, the majority of which come from China and India. In total, India produces around half of all generic drugs imported into the U.S., although China accounts for 80% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in those medications.