{"id":113933,"date":"2026-08-11T08:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T08:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/113933\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T08:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T08:05:11","slug":"swiss-pharma-companies-flock-to-north-carolina-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/113933\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss pharma companies flock to North Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"city\"<\/p>\n

Raleigh, North Carolina has become an up and coming pharma hub in the US. <\/p>\n

2023 Chansak Joe \/ Shutterstock. <\/p>\n

Some 80 Swiss companies are based in the southeastern United States including Switzerland’s two largest pharmaceutical firms – Roche and Novartis. The governor of North Carolina wants to attract even more.\n<\/p>\n

This content was published on <\/p>\n

August 11, 2026 – 09:00\n<\/p>\n

\n Manuela Siegert and Rahel Winkelmann, SRF <\/p>\n

Mountains, waterfalls, Atlantic beaches \u2013 North Carolina\u2019s natural beauty is captivating. But that\u2019s not why Swiss companies are moving to the state. It is rather thanks to an active investment promotion policy.<\/p>\n

This policy has become all the more effective since the US government has effectively put the entire world in a tariff headlock. Since the first tariffs were announced, Swiss companies have promised to invest $200 billion (CHF161 billion) in the US by 2028, with $67 billion of that by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n

\n More<\/p>\n

\"View<\/p>\n

More <\/p>\n

Healthcare innovation\n <\/p>\n

Basel\u2019s world-beating pharma hub fights for place in new global order <\/p>\n

\n

This content was published on <\/p>\n

Aug 11, 2026 <\/p>\n

AI, geopolitics, and new competitors are forcing Basel to fight harder for its place as a leading pharmaceutical hub. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Read more: Basel\u2019s world-beating pharma hub fights for place in new global order
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Josh Stein has been governor of North Carolina since 2025. The Democratic politician arrives for the interview with Swiss public television SRF armed with plenty of self-promotion. \u201cWhen companies consider North Carolina, they know they\u2019ll find top-notch scientists and researchers here, but also skilled workers who can produce every product they manufacture to the highest quality,\u201d says Stein.<\/p>\n

Pharma and medtech companies in particualr are flocking to the state: Roche, Novartis, and device maker Ypsomed are three examples. Roche and Novartis are currently building large production facilities in North Carolina, with investments in the high three-digit millions.<\/p>\n

Ypsomed CEO Simon Michel has acquired a factory in Holly Springs, which it plans to bring online in 2027. The medtech company, which specialises in injection pens, is investing CHF200 million. \u201cThey are investing heavily in education, training, and the workforce. They are also supporting us with tax incentives,\u201d says Michel.<\/p>\n

While Michel remains committed to Switzerland as a location and does not intend to outsource research and development, \u201cproduction can certainly also take place in the US or China for the local markets\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSwitzerland plays a very important role for North Carolina\u2019s economy in the fields of pharmaceuticals and advanced manufacturing,\u201d says Stein. Eighty Swiss companies operate in his state, \u201cand together they employ over 8,100 North Carolina residents\u201d. Companies such as ABB, Sika, and Nestl\u00e9 have also had operations there for some time.<\/p>\n

This is not good news for Switzerland as a pharmaceutical hub, says Ren\u00e9 Buholzer, managing director of Interpharma, the primary umbrella association for research-based pharmaceutical companies in Switzerland. Switzerland\u2019s position as a business location is under pressure. \u201cWe are at a crossroads; the world has changed fundamentally. If we don\u2019t act, the golden age will be over.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about US tariffs on Switzerland among other countries, the Democratic governor responds critically: \u201cWhat companies need to make major investments \u2013 investments amounting to tens, hundreds, or even billions of dollars \u2013 is stability, security, and predictability. And unfortunately, the way this administration\u2019s tariff program has been implemented is the exact opposite of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that \u201call I can do as governor is urge my representatives in Washington to reassert their authority under the United States Constitution. Congress has the power to declare war. Congress has the power to impose tariffs. Essentially, Congress has ceded this authority to the president. I believe they must reaffirm their independence and autonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Governor Stein believes that a presence in the US also offers advantages for Switzerland. \u201cWe have a very favourable location on the East Coast, roughly halfway between Florida and New York. There are 150 million Americans living within a day\u2019s drive. That means access to many markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"political<\/p>\n

Josh Stein was elected governor of North Carolina in November 2024. <\/p>\n

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved <\/p>\n

The day before the interview with SRF, he visited a Swiss company that also plans to set up operations in North Carolina \u2014 the name remains confidential until a final decision. Further meetings are planned between the two parties.<\/p>\n

Stein adds that there is a long history between the US state and Switzerland. \u201cIn fact, some of the first settlers came to North Carolina in the early 18th century and founded the state\u2019s second-largest city here: New Bern.\u201d<\/p>\n

Translated from GermanExternal link<\/a>. Sub-edited by jdp<\/p>\n

Articles in this story <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Raleigh, North Carolina has become an up and coming pharma hub in the US. 2023 Chansak Joe \/…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[101,596,1432,114,1002,28627,28765,566,1812,1434,17,630],"class_list":["post-113933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-article","tag-beat-healthcare-innovation","tag-beat-research-frontiers","tag-business","tag-health","tag-kpi-srg-curation-macroeconomics-economics","tag-kpi-srg-curation-pharma-health","tag-multinationals","tag-production-type-curation","tag-sci-tech","tag-switzerland","tag-work"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/117075845246703478","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}