British pharmaceutical firm GSK has pledged to invest $30 billion (£22 billion) in research and manufacturing in the United States over the next five years. The announcement, made at the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom, will fund the development of next-generation factories, artificial intelligence, and research labs in the U.S. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the investment a “powerful example” of collaboration between the two countries, which he said would create new jobs and boost drug development.
The move comes at a time when drugmakers are under pressure from the Trump administration to move production to the U.S. A new $1.2 billion factory in Pennsylvania is part of this commitment and will be dedicated to developing medicines for respiratory diseases and cancer, with construction planned to begin next year. The investment will also fund new AI and digital technology tools across GSK’s five existing American manufacturing sites in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland, and Montana. The remainder of the $30 billion will support GSK’s supply chain and drug research efforts.
Pharmaceutical Industry’s Shifting Focus
While making this significant commitment to the U.S., GSK’s Chief Executive Emma Walmsley said the company plans to continue investing in its UK manufacturing base, with an ongoing yearly spend of over £1.5 billion on research and development in the country.
However, GSK’s investment in the U.S. follows a trend of other pharmaceutical firms reducing spending in the UK or redirecting it to the U.S. The industry has been facing pressure from the Trump administration’s threats of tariffs as steep as 250% on pharmaceutical imports. These threats have caused major disruption, with drugmakers pausing or canceling nearly £2 billion in planned investments in Britain this year. For example, last week, U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck—known as MSD in Europe—announced it would abandon its £1 billion London research center. Shortly after, AstraZeneca halted its planned £200 million expansion of its research facilities in Cambridge.
What The Author Thinks
This massive investment by GSK, while framed as a strategic business decision, is a clear response to the political pressure from the Trump administration’s “America-first” policies. The threat of high tariffs is proving to be an effective, albeit coercive, tool for reshaping global supply chains. The trend of pharmaceutical companies shifting investments from the UK to the U.S. suggests that governments with aggressive trade policies can successfully use them to attract foreign direct investment, even at the expense of allies. This raises questions about the future of international economic cooperation and the loyalty of multinational corporations in an era where domestic policy is increasingly intertwined with global commerce.
Featured image credit: Wikimedia Commons
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