GSK Stock Climbs After-Hours On $30B US Investment Pledge As Trump Pressures Big Pharma To Build In America

GSK’s U.S.-listed shares ticked nearly 2% higher after-hours Tuesday after the British drugmaker said it will pour $30 billion into U.S. research and manufacturing over the next five years, the latest move by a major pharmaceutical company to expand domestic production under President Donald Trump’s "America first" push.

The investment includes a fresh $1.2 billion package to build new labs and factories, expand drug-substance production, and roll out AI and digital technology across five existing plants. GSK said the money will support hundreds of new high-skilled jobs alongside construction work.

A centerpiece of the plan is a new biologics “flex” factory at Upper Merion, Pennsylvania, scheduled to break ground in 2026. The site will focus on medicines for respiratory illnesses such as asthma and COPD, as well as cancer. GSK is also adding new auto-injector and assembly capabilities as part of the push.

“This week’s State Visit brings together two countries that have led the world in science and healthcare innovation,” CEO Emma Walmsley said, adding that the company’s $30 billion commitment would further cement its U.S. research and supply-chain base.

The move comes as other global drugmakers step up U.S. spending. Earlier Tuesday, Eli Lilly announced a $5 billion facility west of Richmond, Virginia, that will make complex cancer and autoimmune medicines and create more than 2,400 jobs. Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have each pledged around $50 billion in U.S. expansion by 2030.

Big Pharma’s building spree indicates both opportunity and pressure as several companies are still trying to patch supply-chain weaknesses exposed during the Covid-19 pandemic, while the Trump administration has threatened tariffs of up to 250% on imported medicines. 

GSK, which employs about 15,000 people in the U.S., has already broken ground on an $800 million facility in Marietta, Pennsylvania, that will double that site’s capacity. Last year, GSK got 1.7 billion packs of medicine and 400 million vaccine doses into the hands of patients. By 2030, it wants to reach 2.5 billion people worldwide.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for GSK was ‘neutral’ amid ‘normal’ message volume.

GSK’s U.S.-listed stock has risen 22.4% so far in 2025.

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