Novartis opens new manufacturing plant in Carlsbad

Swiss drugmaker Novartis opened a new 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Carlsbad to make cancer drugs, as part of its promised $23 billion investment push to build out its domestic U.S. facilities over the next five years.

The plant will produce compounds needed for radioligand therapy (RLT), a form of precision medicine that enables the delivery of radiation directly on cancerous tumors while limiting damage to surrounding cells.

“Radioligand therapy is a breakthrough we’ve unlocked at scale, made possible by reimagining how innovation reaches patients,” said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis. “As the global leader in RLT for more than seven years, we’ve advanced this technology with a deep belief in its power to transform cancer care.”

This Carlsbad manufacturing facility will be Novartis’ third radioligand therapy production site in the U.S., and will help meet future demand for doses for patients in western states and Hawaii.

“The opening of our Carlsbad facility underscores our strong commitment to the U.S. and dedication to bringing this pioneering treatment to patients across the country,” Narasimhan of Novartis said.

The firm said it was also expanding existing sites in North Carolina, Indiana and New Jersey.

The Trump administration has exerted political and regulatory pressure on pharmaceutical companies to reduce drug prices and increase domestic drug production through executive orders and threats of tariffs.

Some companies, such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have been engaged in public negotiations and struck deals to reduce the price of popular drugs such as Ozempic and Zepbound. Others, such as Novartis, have promised to beef up domestic investments.

In April, Novartis said it would invest $50 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, and has been setting up domestic supply chains for its high-margin business of radioligand therapy. Of this, $23 billion will be used to build and expand ten U.S. sites.

The company announced that it will set up additional radioligand therapy manufacturing facilities in Florida and Texas, and will establish its second global R&D hub in San Diego.

“We commend Novartis for supporting our broader mission of bringing manufacturing capacity in the United States,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in a press release on Monday. “Our unique partnership approach is working.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.