The wave of US pharmaceutical manufacturing investments has garnered the headlines, but are geographic capacity shifts really in the making? A DCAT Week education program will provide expert analysis, including on the all-important, “make-versus-buy” decision.

US manufacturing investments
Increasing US competitiveness in manufacturing is a major policy goal of the current Administration, and trade policy in the form of tariffs is one way in which the Administration is seeking to increase US-based manufacturing by creating incentives for companies to base operations in the US to avoid tariff burden. Last year (2025) and continuing now in 2026, the bio/pharmaceutical industry has seen a slate of announced expansions in the US—greenfield projects and expansions of existing facilities for manufacturing, research and development, and other capital projects. Many of the large bio/pharmaceutical companies have announced multi-year and multi-billion capital projects in the US.

The wave of announced pharmaceutical manufacturing investments in the US has garnered the headlines, but are geographic capacity shifts really in the making? If so, what are the implications for bio/pharmaceutical companies and CDMOs and the industry at large?

The DCAT Week education program, Manufacturing Investments, Capacity & Financial Outlook: A Pharma & CDMO View, will provide key insights on this very important issue. Sean P. McKee, Partner, PharmaBioSource, a global life sciences consulting firm focused on pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing facility and business transactions, will provide an analysis of these US-based manufacturing investments: level of investments, capacity additions, and trends comparative to historical levels.

A CMDO/CMO financial outlook
Important questions for CDMOs/CMOs is whether these investments may be influencing insourced/outsourcing decisions as bio/pharmaceutical companies lay out plans for their internal manufacturing networks in the US, and are geographic considerations coming into play in the “make-versus-buy” decisions. To gain a perspective on this issue, Daniel Cohen, Managing Director & Global Head of Pharma Outsourcing Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley, will provide a financial overview of the CDMO/CMO sector: overall performance, outlook, and key trends influencing sector performance and valuations.

The Manufacturing Investments, Capacity & Financial Outlook: A Pharma & CDMO View program is part of DCAT Week, the premier gathering for companies engaged in the global bio/pharmaceutical business ecosystem and is hosted by the Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association (DCAT). DCAT Week will be held March 23–26, 2026, in New York. The Manufacturing Investments, Capacity & Financial Outlook: A Pharma & CDMO View program will be held on Tuesday March 24, 2026, 9:00–10:00 AM. The program is exclusive to DCAT Member Companies. Further information, including how to register, may be found here.