At BIO 2026 in San Diego, J&J and Roche each committed $2bn in North Carolina to onshore manufacturing and R&D, while trade associations and local governments launched state-wide forums to coordinate talent pipeline development. Eli Lilly joined these workforce forums to share hiring plans and boost biopharma manufacturing capacity.
At BIO 2026 in San Diego, major drugmakers, including J&J and Roche, convened with trade associations, local governments and academic institutions to coordinate state-level workforce development initiatives for biopharma manufacturing.
J&J and Roche each committed $2bn in 2025 and 2026 to build new onshore manufacturing and R&D facilities in North Carolina, part of a broader strategy to secure tariff exemptions and meet rising production demands.
Originating in the early 1990s to prevent talent poaching, the North Carolina Life Sciences Organisation’s forum now integrates higher education partners and companies like Eli Lilly to pool recruitment strategies and expand the skilled workforce.
Smaller biopharma regions, such as Oregon, have launched similar forums where companies share hiring plans and training initiatives to collectively address talent shortages.
