Shaping Tomorrow: How Onshoring Is Reshaping Pharma Manufacturing

When we think about industries that shape our daily lives and global economies, few are as impactful—or as expansive—as pharmaceuticals. As a cornerstone of modern medicine, pharmaceuticals not only drive innovation in treatment but also shape the broader healthcare landscape.

Here’s a quick overview:

• Global revenue – approximately $1.6 trillion 
• U.S. revenue – $574 billion
• North America accounts for 41.87% of the global market

This is by any standard, a massive industry, and year-over-year, one of the fastest growing, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 6.12% from 2025 to 2030. The reasons are clear: rising chronic disease prevalence, aging populations and increased healthcare spending. 

For this blog, I’m going to zero in on pharma manufacturing, both current state, future plans and potential for expansion. 

Today, more than 342,000 people power the pharma manufacturing industry in the U.S., with major hubs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois. With investment flooding in, that number is only set to grow.

Onshoring is Trending 

Onshoring began with the supply chain bottlenecks we experienced during COVID. Onshoring—or setting up manufacturing in a company’s home country—was seen as a way to lower risk by controlling more of the supply chain.

Onshoring or reshoring (returning overseas operations to the home country) is having a moment. In 2023 alone, companies announced over 287,000 reshored or nearshored jobs – the highest on record. Pharmaceuticals, along with semiconductors, electric vehicles, clean energy and aerospace, are leading the charge. 

Incentivized by the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and Buy American rules, manufacturers in many industry sectors have been making plans to onshore, and the latest tariffs are further helping to redefine the economics of production.

Projects in the News 

Eli Lilly announced plans to build four new manufacturing facilities in the U.S. at a cost of around $27B. This would raise the company’s total planned spending on U.S. capital projects to more than $50B, which it claims is the largest pharma manufacturing investment in U.S. history. Three of the four new sites will be used to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). This is significant because approximately 72 percent of essential APIs used in the U.S. market are currently produced outside the country.

Roche announced plans to invest $50B in the United States over the next five years. The plans call for expanded manufacturing facilities in four states and a new site location to be announced soon. The company estimates that these investments will create 1,000 jobs at Roche and more than 11,000 non-company support roles, including 6,500 in construction. 

Merck is building a $1B biologic manufacturing center in Wilmington, Delaware. The facility will support development and commercialization of biologics, and eventually will manufacture the cancer drug Keytruda. Initial plans call for more than 500 permanent positions and 4,000 temporary construction jobs. 

In March, Johnson & Johnson broke ground on a 500,000 square foot, state-of-the-art biologics manufacturing facility in North Carolina. The plant is part of the company’s $55B investment in domestic manufacturing, research and development, and technology over the next four years. This represents a 25% increase in investment compared to the previous four years. 

Regeneron signed a deal worth over $3B with contract manufacturer Fujifilm Diosynth to potentially double its U.S. capacity, with total U.S. investment surpassing $7B.

Sanofi is the latest pharma giant to announce plans for domestic investments, saying it plans to invest at least $20 billion through 2030 to beef up its R&D and manufacturing operations in the U.S. A company press release said that manufacturing capacity would be enhanced “both through direct investments in Sanofi sites, as well as through partnerships with other domestic manufacturers, to help ensure the production of medicines in the U.S.”

These are some significant future plans to be sure—but there’s no reason to think this is the end. Other U.S. pharma companies face the same market pressures, and many have unused or underused facilities.

How Do These Investments Impact Demand for Talent?

Simply put, the fight for talent is going to get serious. There is already an industry-wide talent shortage. Our research shows that 69% of employers in life sciences and healthcare are having difficulty finding skilled talent. Construction professionals aren’t much easier to find: 72% of employers in the Industrials and Materials sector are having trouble finding skilled workers.

Opening a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in the U.S. involves assembling a multidisciplinary team to ensure compliance with regulatory standards, efficient operations, and high-quality production.  

This is just a partial breakdown of the key employee roles typically required: 

1. Administrative and Executive roles including Regulatory Affairs. The Regulatory Affairs field is getting much more complex—these professionals track 75,000 regulatory changes annually, a 300% increase from a decade ago.
2. Quality and Compliance – both quality assurance and quality control specialists  
3. Manufacturing and Operations – various engineers, technicians and supervisors 
4. Research and Development (if applicable) 
5. Supply Chain and Logistics – including managers and warehouse staff 
6. IT and Digital Systems support specialists and data analysts 
7. Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) officers 
8. Cleanroom and Sanitation Staff 

The Talent Shortage Challenge

Part of today’s talent shortage is unfixable. There are more people leaving the workforce than entering it. Additionally, the life sciences field faces increasing competition from tech companies and start-ups when it comes to talent. So knowing that the field is limited, there are two basic moves that an employer can make.

1. Reskill or upskill your current staff. Right now, 79% of employers in life sciences feel that the skills gap is widening. This is clearly a problem. But it can be addressed with a focused skilling program. There is a lot of information out there on creating your own upskilling program, but for insights into the value of upskilling, I invite you to read “How to Boost Employee Motivation and Morale Through Learning.”
2. Develop an Employer Value Proposition. This is a unique set of attributes designed to attract talent to your organization. Some ideas:
1. Focus on the real-world impact of pharma work, a chance to make a difference in the health of others.
2. Offer well-being perks and flexible scheduling whenever possible. Our research shows that healthcare and life sciences workers are more stressed than other professions. 
3. Provide career development opportunities. One study found that 94% of employees surveyed stated that they would stay longer at a company if it offered career development opportunities.

We’re Here To Help You Build Your Pharma Workforce—Now and for What’s Next

At Manpower, we partner with leading pharma companies to close skills gaps and build high-performing teams—fast. Whether it’s specialized recruiting, upskilling programs, or labor market insights, we’re here to help you stay competitive as the industry transforms.

When you work with us, you’re always ready for what’s next.

Greg is a healthcare staffing executive with over 25 years of experience delivering staffing and consulting solutions to life sciences and healthcare organizations across the U.S. From 2024-2026 he led the Healthcare and Life Sciences Vertical Strategy at ManpowerGroup North America. Greg holds a bachelor's degree in business management from Merrimack College and is recognized for his strategic leadership and growth-oriented approach. He is based in the Greater Boston area.