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GSK plans $30 billion investment in U.S. over next five

years

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Investment includes new factory in Pennsylvania for cancer

drugs

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Investment would create thousands of jobs, boost US drug

making

(Adds quote from British Prime Minister, context about UK

investment environment, bullet points.)

By Maggie Fick

Sept 17 (Reuters) -

Drugmaker GSK said Wednesday it would invest $30

billion in U.S. research and development and supply chain

infrastructure over five years, after U.S. President Donald

Trump arrived in Britain for a second state visit to seal

investment deals.

The company said its new facilities in the U.S., which made

up half its revenue last year, would "bridge R&D and

manufacturing across both the U.S. and UK, strengthening the two

countries' leadership in life sciences."

GSK's investment includes $1.2 billion to build a new

factory in Pennsylvania that will produce new medicines for

respiratory disease and cancer, with construction to commence in

2026.

It will invest in AI, digital technology, new drug substance

manufacturing, and improved device assembly at GSK's five U.S.

sites.

London-based GSK is the latest drugmaker to scale up its

U.S. footprint as Trump threatens to impose import tariffs on

the industry and seeks to boost domestic manufacturing. The

sector has historically been spared from trade disputes.

"This landmark investment will create tens of thousands of

American jobs and ensure that critical medicines and

technologies are developed and manufactured right here on U.S.

soil-where they belong," U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick

said in a statement shared by GSK.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in the statement

that the investment was a "powerful example of how UK-U.S.

collaboration was driving real-world impact - improving people's

health, creating opportunity, and turbocharging growth."

The GSK investment in the United States comes as some

drugmakers, including AstraZeneca ( AZN ) and U.S. drugmaker

Merck & Co ( MRK ), have

pulled back

or paused investments in the UK, citing a

challenging domestic environment

.

CLINICAL TRIALS, R&D TO GET BOOST

The investment will bolster R&D and clinical trial activity,

and the U.S. is expected to rank first for the number of

studies, sites and clinical trial participants conducted by GSK

over the next five years, the company said.

The drugmaker did not say whether the $30 billion included

funds already earmarked for its U.S. business.

Pharma industry sources have told Reuters that some firms

that have announced large U.S investments under Trump have

included projects or sites already in the works in order to

provide a large headline figure.

GSK said it had committed about $2 billion to U.S.

manufacturing over the past year, which would add hundreds of

skilled jobs as well as construction roles, building on its

roughly 15,000 strong U.S. workforce.