Understanding Pharma Manufacturing’s US Domestic Investment Surge

After years of volatility, pharmaceutical manufacturing is entering a new investment cycle, with hundreds of billions of dollars pledged to flow into new and existing U.S. facilities. The surge promises expanded capacity, but also raises questions about workforce availability, infrastructure readiness, and long-term execution.

In these episodes of Off Script: A Pharma Manufacturing Podcast, we spoke with David Grote, vice president of strategy at GrayMatter Partners, to discuss in depth what this wave of funding means in practice. 

In the first part of our conversation, we discuss where investment is concentrating, how competition for skilled talent is shaping project timelines, the strain on shared resources, and why flexible facility design will be critical to sustaining growth beyond today’s political and economic cycle.

Part two of our conversation with Grote focuses on the execution challenges that will define the success of today’s pharmaceutical manufacturing investment boom.

David explores the growing tension between speed, quality, and cost as companies race to bring new facilities online, and explains how early collaboration with regulators can help accelerate validation without sacrificing compliance or long-term resilience. He also discusses the lasting impact this investment cycle will have on U.S. manufacturing footprints and the expanding set of options that could open new opportunities for smaller companies.