GSK Pledges $30 Billion US Investment as UK Pharma Faces Growing Uncertainty

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said it will invest $30 billion over the next five years in research and manufacturing in the United States, a major commitment announced at the start of US President Donald Trump’s visit to the United Kingdom.

The British pharmaceutical firm said the money will fund next-generation factories, artificial intelligence and digital technology tools, and research laboratories across its US operations. GSK said $1.2 billion of the investment will be used to build a new factory in Pennsylvania to develop medicines for respiratory diseases and cancer, with construction due to start next year. The company said the investment will also upgrade capabilities at five American manufacturing sites, including facilities in North Carolina and Maryland, and support its US supply chain and drug research efforts.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the investment as a “powerful example” of collaboration between the two countries, saying it would create new jobs and bolster drug development. GSK Chief Executive Emma Walmsley said the company planned to continue investing in the United Kingdom, and that GSK would maintain more than £1.5 billion in annual UK research and development spending.

The announcement comes amid pressure from the Trump administration on pharmaceutical companies to shift production to the United States and follows threats of tariffs on pharmaceutical imports of as much as 250 percent. The measures and rhetoric have coincided with a wider wave of investment changes in Britain’s life sciences sector this year.

Industry sources and government figures show drugmakers have paused or cancelled nearly £2 billion in planned investments in the UK this year. In recent weeks US pharmaceutical company Merck, known as MSD in Europe, said it would scrap plans for a £1 billion London research centre. AstraZeneca also halted a planned £200 million expansion of its research facilities in Cambridge.

GSK framed the US investment as part of a global strategy to modernize manufacturing and accelerate drug development, while reiterating a commitment to its British operations. The company said the bulk of the $30 billion will be directed at scaling up production capacity, digital and AI-enabled manufacturing processes, and research activities within the United States.

Analysts said the timing of the announcement, coinciding with the US president’s UK visit, underscores growing geopolitical and trade considerations shaping pharmaceutical investment decisions. GSK’s pledge is the latest sign of multinational drugmakers reassessing their global footprints in response to policy shifts and calls from US officials to boost domestic manufacturing.

GSK did not provide a detailed breakdown of how the remaining funds beyond the Pennsylvania site and planned digital upgrades will be allocated across specific projects or timelines. The company said construction on the Pennsylvania facility is expected to begin next year and that the broader five-year investment program will be deployed across research, manufacturing and supply-chain improvements in the United States.

British officials have stressed the importance of sustaining the country’s science base and corporate investment. The government and industry groups have been urging companies to maintain and increase UK research and manufacturing presence even as some firms redirect projects abroad. GSK’s leadership emphasized that UK R&D spending would continue at current levels while the company expands its US manufacturing and research capacity.

The pledge adds to a pattern of major capital decisions by global pharmaceutical companies that could reshape where medicines are developed and manufactured, with immediate implications for jobs and research ecosystems on both sides of the Atlantic. GSK’s plans will be closely watched by policymakers and industry stakeholders as details of project timing and local hiring are finalized.