Company says expansion will include new gene therapy, AI R&D, and diagnostics facilities, along with 12,000 new jobs

Roche has announced plans to invest $50 billion into its US pharmaceutical and diagnostics operations over the next five years. The company says the funding will be used to significantly expand its manufacturing and research capabilities across multiple states and create more than 12,000 new jobs.

According to Roche, the investment will support the construction of new research and production sites, as well as upgrades to existing facilities, reinforcing its long-standing presence in the US. Roche currently employs more than 25,000 people across 24 sites in eight states. The company operates 13 manufacturing and 15 research and development centres in the country.

The planned investment includes both pharmaceutical and diagnostics operations, with the goal of meeting growing global demand and reducing reliance on external supply chains. Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker said in a statement that the company’s “110-year legacy in the United States has been a key driver for jobs, innovation and the creation of intellectual property,” and that the expansion would “lay the foundation for our next era of innovation and growth.”

According to the company, the $50 billion commitment will support several major new developments across Roche’s US footprint.

A new gene therapy manufacturing facility will be established in Pennsylvania. Roche has not yet disclosed which products the site will support but stated the facility will play a central role in expanding its capacity to develop and produce genetic treatments for rare and complex diseases.

The investment will also fund the construction of a large-scale manufacturing site designed to support Roche’s growing pipeline of weight-loss therapies. The company said the facility will span 900,000 square feet and will be used to meet expected demand for metabolic treatments currently in development. The exact location of this site has not yet been announced.

In Indiana, Roche plans to develop a new manufacturing centre dedicated to continuous glucose monitoring technologies. The site is intended to strengthen the company’s diagnostics infrastructure and contribute to the wider availability of monitoring devices for diabetes management.

Roche is also establishing a new research and development centre in Massachusetts. This site will focus on artificial intelligence and data-driven discovery, with an emphasis on applying AI to drug development and diagnostics. In addition to its work in machine learning and foundation models, the new R&D hub will focus on research into cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic diseases — areas that Roche has identified as key pillars of its future portfolio.

As part of the broader investment, Roche will also carry out upgrades to several of its existing pharmaceutical and diagnostics facilities. These include locations in Arizona, Indiana, and California, where the company aims to modernise infrastructure and expand capabilities to keep pace with emerging technologies and pipeline needs.

Roche has described the five-year US expansion plan as a way to strengthen its domestic presence and meet future global demand more efficiently. The company said the new and upgraded sites will help ensure it can manufacture and distribute both medicines and diagnostic technologies at scale, particularly in areas where global demand is rising.

With its expanded footprint, Roche also expects to shift its US operations from being a net importer to a net exporter of pharmaceutical products. The company stated that its diagnostics division already exports more from the US than it imports, and anticipates a similar trend in its medicines business as additional production capacity comes online.