Eli Lilly has announced a $4.5bn investment to establish the Lilly Medicine Foundry for drug production and manufacturing medicines for clinical trials.
The facility, to be located in Indiana's LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon, will integrate advanced manufacturing with drug development.
It is designed to enhance Lilly's capabilities in producing clinical trial medicines while exploring manufacturing solutions.
This initiative is expected to optimise processes, boost trial medicine capacity, and reduce both costs and environmental impact. The facility will accommodate the production of various molecular therapies, including small molecules, biologics, and nucleic acid therapies.
Technological advancements from the Medicine Foundry will be implemented across Lilly's manufacturing network for broader application.
Its strategic location within the LEAP district fosters synergy with Lilly Research Laboratories in Indianapolis and the company's existing Lebanon manufacturing sites.
Eli Lilly chair and CEO David Ricks said: “As we accelerate our work to discover new medicines for the toughest diseases, we're continuing to invest in state-of-the-art infrastructure to support our growing pipeline.
“In addition to supplying high-quality medicine for our clinical studies, this new complex will further strengthen our process development and scale up our manufacturing capabilities to speed delivery of next-generation medicines to patients around the world.”
The new facility builds on Lilly's ongoing expansion in Lebanon. In May 2022, Lilly announced a $2.1bn investment in two new sites for active ingredients and modalities.
Ground-breaking for these sites occurred in April 2023, with an additional investment of $1.6bn.
In May 2024, Lilly pledged a further $5.3bn to enhance active pharmaceutical ingredient production capacity, focusing on diabetes and obesity treatments.
In August 2024, based on the success of the weight-loss drug Zepbound, Eli Lilly raised its revenue forecast for 2024 following second-quarter financial results.
