French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi said Wednesday it plans to invest at least $20 billion into its operations in the United States through 2030 to expand both research and manufacturing.
The announcement comes as pharmaceutical firms have announced tens of billions in investments in the United States to stave off possible tariffs or other measures by President Donald Trump’s administration.
“The expected investment includes a significant increase in research and development spending and the allocation of billions of dollars to US manufacturing… to expand its US manufacturing capacity,” the company said in a statement.
Trump spared prescription drugs as part of his tariff blitz at the beginning of April, the stated purpose of which is to encourage foreign companies to invest in US manufacturing to bring down the US trade deficit.
High drug prices are also a major concern, and Trump signed this week an executive order that aims to force drug manufacturers to sell their products in the United States at the lowest price they do abroad.
If implemented, the measure could wreak havoc in the industry, which makes most of the profits needed to fund research in the US market.
“While Sanofi’s investment decisions will be adjusted as the external environment continues to evolve, the planned investments are expected to create a significant number of high-paying jobs in multiple states in the coming years,” the statement said.
The investments “will help ensure the production of key medicines in the US,” said chief executive Paul Hudson.
“Sanofi’s 13,000 US-based employees are pioneering the research and development of first- and best-in-class medicines across numerous therapeutic areas,” he added.
Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche, which announced in April $50 billion in US investments, warned Trump’s drugs price plan could force it to scale back investments.
