Lilly expands India footprint with Hyderabad plantLilly expands India footprint with Hyderabad plant

Home to India’s first 2,000+ acres organized cluster for life sciences, the Genome Valley will house Lilly’s second facility in India, with the first located in Bengaluru, approximately 600 kilometers south of Hyderabad. The plant will accommodate automation, artificial intelligence (AI), software product engineering, and cloud computing technologies. 

According to the firm, the facility will use these technologies to deliver therapies to patients globally. Lilly is hiring over 1,000 employees locally and is expected to open the plant by mid-2025. 

“LCCI Hyderabad will initially help enhance the company’s digital strategy and improve service delivery capabilities across its global operations,” a spokesperson for the firm told BioProcess Insider. 

“Further, it will focus on expanding capabilities in automation, artificial intelligence, software product engineering and cloud computing to deliver advanced technology solutions that meet the evolving needs of Lilly’s business worldwide.” 

The Indiana, US-based firm came to India in 1993, and operates through two business entities in the country. The Gurgaon, Haryana plant focuses on commercializing pharmaceutical products in areas such as diabetes, oncology, and immunology. The Bengaluru facility, opened in January 2016, supports global operations through advanced digital, data, and clinical capabilities. 

Sharing the company’s India outlook the spokesperson added, “India is one of the fastest-growing pharmaceutical markets in the world and a key market for Lilly. For over 30 years, Lilly has had a strong presence in India. Our investment in LCCI Hyderabad underscores India’s importance to Lilly’s growth strategy. Looking ahead, we will continue to pursue opportunities in India that align with our broader goals for growth and innovation.” 

Lilly’s investment recap 

A frontrunner in the obesity and diabetes drug market, Eli Lilly has made a string of investments in the past year. The firm acquired Nexus Pharmaceuticals’ Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin facility to produce injectable medicines in April 2024. The facility was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is expected to begin production by the end of 2025. Recently, the firm invested $3 billion in the facility. 

This was followed by the firm injecting an additional $5.3 billion in its Boone Country, Indiana plant to bolster capacity to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for its tirzepatide products, Zepbound and Mounjaro. 

In June 2024, Lilly doubled investment to $2 billion at its Concord, North Carolina facility since its ground breaking in 2022. The facility, previously owned by cigarette manufacturing firm Phillip Morris, will produce diabetes and obesity medicine. Creating 600 jobs, the plant is expected to open in 2025. 

The firm then opened its 346,000 square-foot facility to advance RNA-based therapeutics in August 2024. The firm invested $700 million at the Boston Seaport area, 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. 

In September 2024, made huge investments in Ireland, injecting $1 billion at its Limerick, Ireland facility, and $800 million at the Kinsale site.