Novartis on Wednesday said it will establish a radioligand therapy (RLT) manufacturing site in Denton, Texas, further enlarging its United States production presence. The new plant will be the Swiss drugmaker's first RLT facility in Texas and its fifth across the country.
The company described the project as part of its earlier commitment to invest $23 billion to build and expand facilities in the U.S. Construction of the 46,000-square-foot site is slated to start this year, and Novartis indicated the Denton plant is likely to reach full operational status in 2028.
Novartis said the Texas facility will create roles spanning bioengineering, advanced manufacturing, quality and operations. It will join the firm's existing RLT production network that includes sites in New Jersey, Indiana and California, as well as a recently announced facility in Florida.
Radioligand therapy is a targeted form of cancer treatment that delivers radiation directly to tumor cells. Novartis already markets RLT drugs Pluvicto, used for prostate cancer, and Lutathera, which treats certain rare gastrointestinal tumors.
Commenting on the expansion, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said, "The addition of our fifth RLT manufacturing site in the U.S. strengthens our ability to meet growing demand, building the capabilities needed to deliver these next-generation treatments with the speed and precision they require."
The company framed the investment against a backdrop of broader industry moves to bolster domestic manufacturing capacity. Novartis said global drugmakers have been accelerating efforts to secure manufacturing and inventory inside the U.S. in response to the Trump administration's sizable tariffs on pharmaceutical imports into the country.
Implications and context
- The Denton site expands Novartis' RLT manufacturing footprint in the U.S., reinforcing capacity for targeted oncology treatments.
- The project is part of a larger, previously announced $23 billion program to grow the company’s U.S. facilities.
- The initiative also aligns with a broader industry trend of shifting production and inventory onshore in response to tariff-driven supply chain pressures.
The company provided projected timing and general roles the site will support, but did not supply further operational details or a specific construction timeline beyond the statements that work will start "this year" and that the plant is "likely" to be fully operational in 2028.