Novartis has started construction of a $1.1 billion biomedical research centre in San Diego, as part of a $23 billion capital investment programme in the US that includes seven new facilities.
The 466,000 sq ft centre will serve as a hub to join Novartis’ current R&D sites in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Basel, Switzerland, and will carry out “end-to-end discovery across key disease areas and technology platforms,” according to the pharma group.
Along with the San Diego facility, Novartis has said it intends to build four new manufacturing plants for drug substances, finished dosage forms, and medical devices over the next five years – including a flagship hub in North Carolina – along with three radioligand therapy (RLT) facilities located in California, Florida, and Texas.
Once operational, in around 2029, the biomedical research centre will employ around 1,000 employees and will integrate Novartis’ drug discovery operations across regions, said the company in a statement.
A key element of the design will be the creation of modular lab spaces to “create adjacencies” between different teams and allow shared technology platforms, including AI and automation.
It will focus in particular on neuroscience, global health, oncology, and age-related diseases and regenerative medicine, and operate across a broad range of treatment modalities, including cell and gene therapies, RNA-based medicines, biologics, targeted protein degraders, and new drug delivery systems.
The new facility in Campus Point will “add a cylinder” to Novartis’ R&D engine, according to Thierry Diagana, California sites head at Novartis, and will house all US West Coast-based Novartis biomedical research teams.
Pharma companies have announced massive investment programmes in the US, many worth tens of billions of dollars, after being threatened by President Trump with tariffs on medicines made elsewhere. Eli Lilly, for example, has just announced the location of its fourth new facility in the US in a $27 billion investment drive.
“This new research centre will strengthen our scientific leadership and accelerate the discovery of transformative medicines for patients worldwide, while deepening our connectivity with biotech, academic, and technology partners across the region,” said Fiona Marshall, president of biomedical research at Novartis.
“Designed to power future drug discovery, with a focus on genetics and human biology in key therapeutic areas such as neuroscience and oncology, it will create a single Novartis research centre within one of the world’s premier life sciences ecosystems,” added Marshall.