The Swiss pharma company Novartis has begun work on a new global biomedical research centre in San Diego, United States. The 43,300 m2 facility will be operational in 2029 and house around 1,000 employees. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The new centre is a key pillar of the pharmaceutical group's planned $23 billion (CHF19 billion) investment in the US. The facility is designed to accelerate the discovery of breakthrough drugs and will become an integral part of Novartis's global research network, which includes sites in Basel, Switzerland, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company giant said. + Novartis announces billion-dollar investment in US Researchers will focus on key therapeutic fields such as neuroscience, oncology, age-related diseases and regenerative medicine, exploiting state-of-the-art technology platforms. "This new research centre will strengthen our scientific leadership and accelerate drug discovery for patients around the world," said ...