Novartis opens new manufacturing plant in Carlsbad

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

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

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

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

“The opening of our Carlsbad facility underscores our strong commitment to the United States and our commitment to bringing this pioneering treatment to patients across the country.”

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

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

Some companies, such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, have engaged in public negotiations and made deals to reduce the price of popular drugs such as Ozympic and Zipbound. Others, such as Novartis, have pledged to promote domestic investment.

In April, Novartis said it would invest $50 billion in the United States over the next five years, building a domestic supply chain for the high-volume business of radioligand therapy. Of this, $23 billion will be spent on the construction and expansion of ten US sites.

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

“We appreciate Novartis supporting our broader mission to build manufacturing capacity in the United States,” FDA Commissioner Marty McRae said in a press release Monday. “Our unique partnership approach is working.”