Auto-injector specialist Ypsomed is hopping on the U.S. manufacturing bandwagon, investing 200 million Swiss francs ($248 million) to build a plant in Holly Springs, North Carolina. It will be the first U.S. facility for the 41-year-old Swiss company.
The announcement comes two weeks after President Donald Trump revealed that companies making pharmaceutical products domestically or building manufacturing facilities in the U.S. would be exempt from a planned 100% tariff on drugs imported into the U.S.
Six months ago, Ypsomed sold off its insulin pump development arm to Swiss company TecMed in a deal worth up to 420 million Swiss francs ($513 million). The move allows Ypsomed to focus on the development and production of self-injectors, which are used in the delivery of GLP-1 medications.
The move also heightens the importance of creating partnerships with biopharma companies, which Ypsomed figures can be better accomplished with an outpost in North Carolina.
“Establishing our new production site in the United States marks an important step in Ypsomed’s global growth strategy,” Simon Michel, CEO of Ypsomed, said in a release. “We have deliberately chosen Holly Springs, a location at the heart of our industry, close to our customers.”
Ypsomed is buying a 160,000 square-foot building in Holly Springs, which has room for expansion, according to the company. The investment will fund its “first phase” of construction, the company added. Ypsomed expects to create 100 jobs initially and plans to expand the workforce to 200 as “demand increases.”
The site will begin supplying products to the U.S. market by the end of 2027, according to the company.
At an investor event last month, Ypsomed said that only 5% to 6% of its products are shipped to the U.S. But that’s likely to change with a move to North Carolina.
“A key reason why Ypsomed shares have repeatedly come under pressure recently is concern about its dependence on Novo Nordisk and doubts about the success of Cagrisema,” analysts at ODDO BHF wrote to clients this week, referring to the Danish pharma giant's next-gen obesity hopeful.
In addition to its move to the U.S., Ypsomed opened a new manufacturing site in Changzhou, China, earlier this year. The company is also expanding its production facility in Schwerin, Germany, investing “several hundred million Swiss francs” for infrastructure updates. It is also spending 200 million Swiss francs on the expansion of its site in Solothurn, Switzerland.
The company said its “global growth strategy” is designed to meet the “worldwide increase in demand for injection systems for self-medication and to further strengthen customer proximity.”
Ypsomed traces its roots to 1984, when it was founded as Disetronic by Michel’s father, Willy Michel. In 2003, the company sold its infusion business to Roche and rebranded as Ypsomed, specializing in injection systems.