Johnson & Johnson plans to invest more than $55 billion to build four domestic manufacturing facilities over the next four years and expand other sites as the threat of future tariffs looms over U.S. industries. The pharmaceutical giant is starting with a $2 billion plant in North Carolina.
New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson on Friday said its new financial commitment represents a 25% increase in investment compared to the previous four years. It estimated that the U.S. economic impact of its increased investment will be more than $100 billion a year.
Concurrent with its announcement, Johnson & Johnson held a ceremonial groundbreaking Friday for a 500,000-square-foot plant in Wilson, North Carolina, near Raleigh. In addition, the drugmaker plans to build three new advanced manufacturing facilities and expand several existing sites. Johnson & Johnson didn't disclose those locations.
Johnson & Johnson isn't the only pharmaceutical firm expanding its domestic industrial footprint. Last month, Eli Lilly said it would be investing $27 billion to build four new manufacturing sites in the United States, bringing its total domestic capital expansion commitments to more than $50 billion since 2020. Both drugmakers cited 2017 tax cut legislation as factors in their increased U.S. spending.
Tariff threatened
This year, the pharmaceutical industry faces the specter of tariffs on imported drugs as an impetus for domestic expansion. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on medicines to encourage keeping manufacturing in the United States. The tech industry is also increasing its investment in American factories in the midst of trade wars. Computer chip giant Nvidia is upping its spending, and Apple said it will invest more than $500 billion over the next four years, including opening a manufacturing facility in Texas.
“Today’s announcements accelerate our nearly 140-year legacy as an American innovation engine tackling the world's toughest healthcare challenges,” Joaquin Duato, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, said in a statement.
The high-tech facility in North Carolina "will not only add U.S.-based jobs but manufacture cutting edge medicines to treat patients in America and around the world," according to Duato.
Johnson & Johnson acquired about 176 acres at the Wilson Corporate Park for its new North Carolina plant. That state-of-the-art biologics manufacturing facility will make medicines for those living with cancer, immune-mediated and neurological diseases. The Wilson development is expected to have a $3 billion impact across North Carolina in its first 10 years of operations.
Governor in the house
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein took part in the Wilson groundbreaking ceremony.
“Biotechnology is one of our state’s largest and fastest growing economic sectors,” he said in a statement. “North Carolina has a strong infrastructure to support the life science industry. ... I look forward to partnering with the Johnson & Johnson team to expand economic opportunity and high-quality jobs to every corner of our state.”
North Carolina is home to more than 830 life sciences companies, according to the governor's office. Johnson & Johnson’s new facility will create 420 jobs, with the average salary being more than double the Wilson County average.
In addition to the facility in Wilson, Johnson & Johnson said it plans to make significant investments in its research-and-development infrastructure aimed at developing treatments in oncology, neuroscience, immunology, cardiovascular disease and robotic surgery.
Johnson & Johnson said it has more manufacturing facilities in the United States than in any other country.