International drugmakers are accelerating U.S. investments in an effort to be closer to key markets as tariff pressures complicate global trade and supply chains.
Although pharmaceutical imports are exempt from U.S. tariffs, President Donald Trump has made a number of threats on the sector, floating the idea of raising tariffs as high as 250% last month. However, his plan to raise the cost of foreign goods may be under attack as the Supreme Court evaluates whether the administration’s sweeping global tariffs are legal.
Here are some of the latest investments, deals and openings in the biopharmaceutical sector this month.
Samsung Biologics inks another contract manufacturing deal with U.S. pharma
South Korea-based Samsung Biologics has struck a nearly $1.3 billion supplier deal with an undisclosed U.S. pharmaceutical company, according to a recent securities filing.
The contract runs through December 2029 and adds to a growing number of production contracts Samsung Biologics has with companies outside of its home country. It is the second-biggest since the company’s founding in 2011, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
In April, Samsung Biologics inked a separate $514 million deal with an undisclosed U.S. drugmaker. Prior to that, it landed a $1.2 billion manufacturing contract with an Asia-based pharmaceutical company in October 2024.
The company’s manufacturing facilities are located in South Korea. In 2020, Samsung Biologics opened a laboratory in San Francisco and continues to weigh U.S. expansion opportunities.
Amgen to invest more than $600 million for R&D center
Drugmaker Amgen said it will invest over half a billion dollars to build a science and innovation center at its global headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California.
The center will bring together experts across disciplines to accelerate research and development of next-generation medicines for patients with serious diseases, according to a news release. The investment is expected to create hundreds of U.S. jobs, but no specifics were disclosed.
It builds on Amgen’s previous investments, including a $900 million factory expansion in Central Ohio and the construction of a $1 billion manufacturing plant in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The company said it has invested more than $40 billion in manufacturing and R&D since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Amgen designated about $5 billion for U.S. projects.
Construction on the R&D center is set to begin this quarter.
India-based Biocon Generics opens first US factory in New Jersey
India-based Biocon on Thursday announced the opening of its first drugmaking facility in the United States, expanding its manufacturing footprint to Cranbury, New Jersey.
In 2023, Biocon acquired the oral medications factory from Eywa Pharma. It has since invested more than $30 million to update the facility, expanding its production capacity to 2 billion tablets per year, according to a news release.
The move brings Biocon “closer to patients, healthcare providers and partners” across the U.S. and other important markets, Siddharth Mittal, Biocon’s CEO and managing director, said in a statement.
Last year, Biocon’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Biocon Generics, established its North American headquarters in Bridgewater, New Jersey, about 30 miles north of its new factory. It is a maker of treatments for chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer and autoimmune disease.
