Eli Lilly to Invest in U.S. Manufacturing Expansion

Eli Lilly is committing USD 27 bn to build four new manufacturing plants in the United States, to increase domestic production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and injectable therapies.

The move is part of Eli Lilly’s broader strategy to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. to support its growing pipeline across key therapeutic areas such as cardiometabolic health, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. The company also aims to reduce its reliance on foreign supply chains and contribute to the revitalization of U.S. domestic manufacturing, with the expansion expected to create around 3,000 skilled manufacturing jobs and 10,000 construction positions.

The following article originally appeared in Fierce Pharma.

Over the last few years, as Eli Lilly has revealed a series of manufacturing investments—each one seemingly more lavish than the last—the company’s spree has begged the question: What will they do for an encore?

Wednesday, Lilly unveiled its most ambitious expenditure and did so in high-profile fashion at a press conference in Washington, D.C., dubbed “Lilly in America.”

The Indianapolis drugmaker said it will begin construction this year on four new production facilities in the U.S. The $27 billion effort more than doubles what the company has earmarked for domestic manufacturing since 2020, bringing the total outlay to more than $50 billion.

"This represents the largest pharmaceutical expansion investment in U.S. history," Lilly CEO David Ricks, said during the press event, calling the new facilities "mega sites."

The plan will provide more than 3,000 new jobs for scientists, engineers, operations personnel and lab technicians, Lilly said.

The company will reveal the sites of the new production facilities later this year. Lilly is in "negotiations with several states," it said and plans to have the new sites operational in five years.

Three of the new factories will manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients. The fourth facility will produce injectable drugs.

The investment pledge comes at a time when the new administration in D.C., led by President Donald Trump, threatens to ramp up tariffs on certain foreign imports and pushes American companies to boost domestic investment. Earlier this week, tech giant Apple touted a $500 billion U.S. investment plan over four years.

During the press conference, U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that Lilly's effort was "exactly what the Trump administration is all about, which is building and manufacturing and reshoring in America."

In a statement, Ricks also said the investment reflects the company’s “optimism” about its ability to develop pipeline products for cardiometabolic health, oncology, immunology and neuroscience.

With the build-out, Lilly also aims to avoid surrendering market share to compounding pharmacies, which are allowed to manufacture copycat versions of branded products that are in shortage. Since 2022, for example, compounders have been able to flood the market with cheaper, knockoff versions of Lilly’s diabetes and obesity blockbusters Mounjaro and Zepbound.

“This bold (investment) reflects our commitment to stay ahead of anticipated demand for safe, high-quality FDA approved medicines of the future,” Ricks said in a statement.

Additionally, with much of the new investment earmarked for API, Lilly is trying to protect itself from potential supply-chain issues, Ricks emphasized during the press event.

"The real gap in the supply chain in the U.S. relates to active ingredient availability," he said. "Importantly, two of those (facilities) will be for synthetic chemistries and these, in particular, have been absent from the landscape in the U.S. for some time."

Last year, Lilly announced several investment initiatives to boost manufacturing capacity, including separate commitments of $5.3 billion and $4.5 billion to support the build-out of its massive complex 30 miles from its headquarters in Lebanon, Indiana.

Those investments came on top of previous revelations about Lilly’s plans to build on the 600-acre site. The company broke ground there in April 2023, saying its investment then at the site had grown to $3.7 billion.

Less than three months ago, Lilly unveiled a plan to pour $3 billion into upgrading the injectables plant in Kenosha, Wis. that it had bought from Nexus Pharmaceuticals for $925 million earlier in 2024.

In addition, due for completion in 2027 is the company’s $1.7 billion plant in Concord, North Carolina.

All told, Eli Lilly has tallied up about $23 billion in U.S. manufacturing commitments in recent years. The new pledge represents about $27 billion in additional planned spending.

Overseas, Lilly is spending $1.8 billion to expand the production capacity at two plants in Ireland. Lilly also has a $2.5 billion plant under construction in Alzey, Germany, which is expected to begin production in 2027.

The investment spree comes as Lilly is the fastest-growing company in the industry. In the fourth quarter of last year, its 45% year-over-year revenue increase was by far the largest among major biopharma companies. Additionally, its market cap of $902 billion is more than twice that of any other pharma company.

In 2024, the company reported sales of diabetes megablockbuster Mounjaro at $11.5 billion and obesity therapy Zepbound at $4.9 billion. Sales of breast cancer treatment Verzenio also are booming at $5.3 billion, which was a 37% increase from 2023.

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