Lilly announces $3bn expansion to injectable drug manufacturing facilityLilly announces $3bn expansion to injectable drug manufacturing facility

Eli Lilly and Company announced a $3 billion expansion to its injectable product manufacturing site. The facility produces glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug products, which are used to treat diabetes and obesity. The site also has fill-finish capabilities.

“Obesity is especially pervasive across our country as rates continue to rise here in the US and around the world,” said David Ricks, CEO of chair of Lilly during a live presentation in Kenosha County. “Unfortunately, that’s also true in Wisconsin where 36% of all adults are affected by obesity.”

He said that high obesity rates are similar across the Midwest and are expected to rise, adversely impacting economic activity and public health. “It’s more important than ever that Lilly gets our innovative medicines to more patients.”

Although the presentation focused predominantly on products used to treat obesity and diabetes, Ricks said that the facility will support the firm's growing pipeline of therapeutic products across all areas, and cited the company's work in treatments for cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

Construction on the expansion is scheduled to begin in 2025. The project brings Lilly’s total investment in the state to more than $4 billion.

The company will add 750 skilled jobs to the site’s workforce, which already employs more than 100 people. The firm plans to hire operators, engineers, technicians, and scientists to join the staff, and the construction project will provides more than 2,000 jobs during its peak.

"Today's announcement represents our single largest US manufacturing investment outside our home state of Indiana and will add to our ability to expand capacity to make both our existing and future pipeline of medicines right here in the Midwest," said Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president and president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations. "We look forward to bringing high-wage, advanced manufacturing, engineering and science jobs to people in Wisconsin, a state that is becoming a critical geography in our global manufacturing operations."

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers added, "As a US regional tech hub, Wisconsin is a national leader in personalized medicine and biohealth, and through this partnership with Lilly, we're going to keep advancing research and innovation and bolstering Wisconsin's manufacturing industry, all while supporting workers, families, and patients across our state and around the world."

Eli Lilly is the maker of GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, which are both forms of injectable tirzepatide used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. A boom in GLP-1 drugs have led to company expansions across the biopharmaceutical sector, with Lilly additionally committing $2 billion to its facility in Concord, North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk is another major player in the GLP-1 space, having invested heavily in Ozempic and Wegovy (both semaglutide) with a recent $4.1 billion investment in its manufacturing space in Clayton, North Carolina.