As Novartis continues to expand its manufacturing capabilities, we’re literally breaking new ground.
On December 11, 2025, government officials, health care leaders, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan and the Novartis team gathered in Durham, North Carolina, for the launch of what will become a new flagship manufacturing hub.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, US Food and Drug Commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, MD, MPH, and Ralf Heckner, Swiss Ambassador to the US, were all in attendance at the ceremony, along with state and local policymakers, employees and members of the local community to celebrate the official start of construction.
The expansion is part of Novartis' $23 billion investment in US-based infrastructure over five years, and it marks a major step toward ensuring all key Novartis medicines for US patients are manufactured in the US.
“It’s an exciting day for Novartis as we break ground on our new manufacturing hub, a crucial step toward delivering on our goal of producing all our key medicines for US patients domestically,” said Narasimhan. “Once complete, this new hub will become a central site for Novartis manufacturing in the US, strengthening our supply chain and underscoring our commitment to American patients.”
Why We’re Expanding in North Carolina
For James Weirich, Vice President and Cell and Gene Therapy Head at Novartis, the region offers advantages that make it well-suited for advanced manufacturing. First it builds on existing Novartis capabilities as the company already manufactures gene therapies in Durham. "The fact that we had a base here for gene therapies made it easier to build upon existing infrastructure," Weirich notes.
The North Carolina project will include the construction of a new facility in Morrisville and a new site in Durham encompassing two new facilities, as well as the expansion of the existing facility in Durham where gene therapies are produced. Together, these investments are expected to create 700 new jobs in North Carolina by 2030 and support more than 3,000 indirect jobs across the US supply chain.
The state has multiple local universities and career development programs, creating a large pool of talent, and making North Carolina an attractive location for expansion, Weirich notes.
"Being in North Carolina over the last five years with gene therapies, it is very rewarding and exciting that Novartis trusts our area to expand," he says.
Manufacturing Across Therapeutic Areas
Together, these sites will enable end-to-end manufacturing—"from drug substance to drug product,” says Weirich—for medicines across Novartis' main therapeutic areas: oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic diseases.
The investment will create comprehensive manufacturing capabilities across three sites that encompass multiple facilities. The new Durham site will add two new facilities dedicated to manufacturing biologics and sterile packaging. While the existing Durham site will expand to support sterile filling of biologics into syringes and vials. A new Morrisville site will specialize in producing solid dosage tablets and capsules, including packaging.
Currently, Novartis produces gene therapies for conditions including spinal muscular atrophy in Durham.
The manufacturing process for gene therapies is highly personalized. "Each patient order is packed out by hand at the North Carolina facility, with staff feeling a direct connection to the patients," says Daniel Grant, Vice President and Global Program Head for the company's late-stage neuromuscular portfolio. This connection is visible—and palpable—on a "Wall of Hope," where team members place rainbow-colored handprint cutouts for every dose shipped to a patient, marking the date and destination.
And the expansion will enable Novartis to continue to reach patients with innovative medicines where they are needed most.
Creating Jobs and Supporting Communities
Anticipated to open by the end of 2028, the flagship manufacturing hub will encompass more than 700,000 square feet across existing and new facilities.
"It's everything from shop floor operations and quality analysts for testing, to engineering support, technical manufacturing, and science and technology roles, supply chain roles, human health and safety, and environmental roles," explains Weirich. Novartis also maintains an active presence in local communities, contributing to the Durham Public Schools and running volunteer programs in partnership with the Durham Food Bank and Habitat for Humanity.
The North Carolina expansion is the latest milestone in Novartis' commitment to domestic manufacturing of advanced therapies. The company is on track to produce its most advanced technologies in the US: cell and gene therapies in Morris Plains, New Jersey, and Durham, North Carolina; radioligand therapies at facilities coast-to-coast; and xRNA therapies at a new facility whose location will be announced in the coming months.
As the facilities take shape over the coming years, they will increase capacity to serve thousands of patients who depend on these medicines. The expansion strengthens both the company's manufacturing capabilities and its presence on North Carolina's pharmaceutical manufacturing stage.
Learn more about our commitment to manufacturing our medicines in the US.
