Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis will expand its research and development, manufacturing capacity and operations footprint in China with a planned investment of more than 3.3 billion yuan ($460 million), the company said.

The announcement came during the China Development Forum 2026 annual meeting that opened in Beijing last week, and which Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, attended for the eighth time.

"China is critical to Novartis' long-term development and innovation," Narasimhan said.

The company, he added, aims to be a trusted healthcare partner in the country and will continue to bring innovative medicines to Chinese patients.

Novartis, which is based in Basel, Switzerland, said China has become its second-largest market globally.

The company plans to launch a large-scale investment and expansion program this year to strengthen innovation and manufacturing capacity in the country.

Its Changping plant in Beijing, established in 1987, is a major production site in the company's global manufacturing network. The facility has begun a new round of expansion and upgrade projects, with planned investment of about 1.5 billion yuan to build new facilities and introduce new sterile preparation, liquid filling and packaging technologies.

Meanwhile, the company's Shanghai campus, which serves as Novartis' China headquarters, will mark its 10th anniversary of operations this year. Novartis plans to jointly invest 1.8 billion yuan with partners to launch the second phase of the Shanghai campus project.

Novartis is a global pioneer in radioligand therapy, which treats certain cancers, and its targeted PSMA radioligand therapy received approval in China for two indications in November last year.

The main construction of the company's radioligand manufacturing facility in Haiyan county, Zhejiang province — the first of its kind in China — has been completed.

Once the site — which involves an investment of 600 million yuan — reaches full production capacity, it will help Novartis quickly meet demand from Chinese patients for the innovative radioligand therapy.

Novartis' move comes as multinational pharmaceutical companies step up investments in China this year.

In March, US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company announced plans to invest $3 billion over the next decade to expand its supply chain capacity in China, building a localized production and supply system for oral solid dosage drugs and supporting manufacturing of its next-generation oral GLP-1 drug orforglipron. The investment is part of the company's largest global manufacturing expansion plan in its history.

In January, UK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca also announced plans to invest more than 100 billion yuan in China by 2030 to expand its footprint in drug manufacturing and research and development.

Executives from multinational pharmaceutical companies said China has become one of the key sources of pharmaceutical innovation in the world. Increasing investment in China and partnering with local biotech firms can help enhance their own innovation capabilities, while expanding production capacity in the nation can also speed up the supply of innovative drugs that have been approved and included in the national insurance system.

China now accounts for about 30 percent of global novel drug development, ranking next only to the United States, according to official estimates. In 2025, the National Medical Products Administration approved 76 innovative drugs, a record high, up from 48 in 2024.

During a recent meeting with executives from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and five major multinational drugmakers, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said that foreign firms have deepened their presence in China over the years, ramping up investment in innovation and turning the country into a key hub for global R&D.

He noted that the outline of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) implements a health-first strategy, identifying biopharmaceuticals as an emerging pillar industry.

The plan also pledges stronger intellectual property protection, greater policy transparency and improved regulatory efficiency, which he said would create fresh opportunities for multinational firms to participate in the Healthy China 2030 initiative.