- In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady talks to AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot.
- The big story: Trump punishes the WSJ for its Epstein scoop.
- The markets: Low drama.
- Analyst notes from Deutsche Bank on housing, JPMorgan on the tariffs, and Goldman Sachs on mortgages.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning. Thirty-three days. That’s how long it took from the time AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot greeted Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin in his London office to announcing a $4 billion manufacturing facility in the state at a press conference in Washington yesterday. Soriot said it’s the European pharma giant’s largest-ever single manufacturing investment, negotiated at the fastest-ever speed. “Usually, this kind of discussion takes months,” he told me in D.C. “Sometimes you have a meeting of minds.”
One thing that Soriot shares with the governor, not to mention other European pharma rivals, is an understanding that it’s important to visibly invest in the U.S. right now. AstraZeneca’s announcement is part of a $50 billion commitment to new U.S. facilities by 2030, much like the tens of billions in spending recently announced by Roche, Novartis, and Sanofi—and billions announced by their U.S. rivals.
The threat of tariffs is a factor in beefing up AstraZeneca’s U.S. manufacturing, of course, but Soriot says the investments make sense on other levels. “Our pipeline is moving quickly,” he told me. That’s especially true when it comes to the market for innovative weight-management drugs like oral GLP-1, which will be manufactured at the facility site, which has not yet been named. “Our bet is the U.S. economy will continue to grow and the U.S. will continue to dominate innovation.”
Then again, Soriot noted that China is also innovating fast. The drugmaker is investing billions there to beef up R&D and presumably help sway the political winds in his company’s favor.
If anywhere is falling out of favor for AstraZeneca as a place to produce new drugs, it’s the company’s home continent. “Europe is losing ground,” he said. “They’re focused more on social benefits and managing costs. It’s like one company is trying to drive the top line, creating opportunities and economic growth, while another company is trying to manage costs and staying flat on the top line. That doesn’t work.”
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com
