Nov 10 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis said on

Monday it has opened a new 10,000-square-foot factory in

Carlsbad, California, to make cancer treatments, as part of its

pledge to invest billions into building U.S. sites.

The plant will produce radioligand therapies, which are

drugs that deliver cell-killing radioactive particles directly

to tumors, the company said. Novartis already markets

radioligand drugs Pluvicto for prostate cancer and Lutathera for

rare gastrointestinal tumors.

The new factory will speed up and stabilize delivery of

radioligand therapy doses to patients across the western U.S.,

Alaska, and Hawaii, Novartis said.

Novartis in April pledged $23 billion to build and expand 10

facilities in the U.S., as it grappled with renewed threats of

drug import duties from the Trump administration.

The company said it planned to build six new manufacturing

plants, some of which will make raw pharmaceutical ingredients,

as well as a new research and development site in San Diego,

California.