Eli Lilly expands footprint with $700m R&D facility

Announced in 2022, the firm invested $700 million in the site in the Boston Seaport area, calling it Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine. This investment was a part of the firm’s strategy to develop RNA based therapeutics using DNA-based technologies that can treat or prevent diseases including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegeneration and chronic pain.

The 12-story building consists of laboratories and office space and will also house the first Lilly Gateway Labs location on the East Coast, fostering a culture of shared expertise and real-time learning to accelerate the development of novel medicines. Additionally, the facility will employ 500 scientists and researchers along with 200 people from Lilly Gateway Labs companies. The Boston Seaport site shares space with Lilly’s Gateway Labs in San Francisco to support biotech start-ups in the Boston area.

“The opening Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine expands upon Lilly's long-standing presence in the Boston area," said Daniel Skovronsky, chief scientific officer, Lilly Research Laboratories.

“We are committed to being supportive neighbors in this hub of discovery and innovation, further collaborating with leading institutions and new talent to continue delivering transformative medicines for the people who need them most.”

Recently, the firm invested $5.3 billion in its Boone County, Indiana plant to bolster capacity to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for its tirzepatide products Zepbound and Mounjaro. In April 2023, Lilly invested $3.7 billion in two facilities, creating 200 jobs in Boone County, Indiana. This was followed by Lilly constructing a $2.5 billion drug production plant in Rhineland–Palatinate, close to the French border in Germany in November 2023. In April 2024, citing rising Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) demands, the firm acquired Nexus Pharmaceuticals’ Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, facility to produce injectable medicines. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved facility will open in 2025.

The firm did not respond when contacted by this publication.