USA – Eli Lilly and Company intends to significantly expand its operations in central Indiana, and the pharmaceutical giant has announced it will invest US$2.1 billion in Boone County to build two manufacturing facilities and create up to 500 jobs.
The facilities are intended to expand Lilly’s manufacturing network for active ingredients as well as new therapeutics such as genetic medicines.
The sites will specifically assist Lilly in responding to increased demand for its current and future drugs.
Lilly CEO Dave Ricks made the announcement alongside Governor Eric Holcomb and Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers at the governor’s residence in Indianapolis.
The facilities will be built in Boone County at the new LEAP Lebanon Innovation and Research District.
According to Ricks, the location of the site was an important factor in the investment.
“Increasingly as we’ve built sites, we see a value in this concept of clustering, where not only we can be in closer relation to our own facilities…but also Purdue is a great asset for the state and for Lilly. It’s our number one source of talent,” said Ricks.
In discussing the upcoming facilities’ focus, Lilly cited the 17 new drugs approved in the last eight years, including this month’s approval for tirzepatide, now known as Mounjaro, in Type 2 diabetes.
Lilly’s most recent expansion in Indiana was announced in 2019 and followed a series of cash investments in research and manufacturing in the Indianapolis area, according to the company.
Over a five-year period, these investments totaled more than US$2.5 billion and created additional manufacturing jobs.
Lilly intends to collaborate with several organizations, including the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, on its latest project in Boone County.
According to the Indiana Economic Development Corp., the site will be a strategic location for future growth, especially given its proximity to I-65 and location between Indianapolis and Purdue University.
According to Lilly, each new company role will generate “an additional four indirect jobs.” It also estimates that the project will require approximately 1,500 construction jobs while the plants are being built.
Lilly has been pouring money into its production network outside of its home state. In late January, the company announced a 400 million-euro (US$445.3 million) investment in a new biologics’ ingredients plant in Limerick, Ireland.
Following that, Lilly announced the construction of a US$1 billion injectables facility in Concord, North Carolina, where it plans to hire 600 new employees.
Early in February this year, Eli Lilly and Company announced the formation of the Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine and a US$700 million investment to build a cutting-edge facility in the Boston Seaport.
Construction on that plant is set to begin in 2022 and will take several years to complete, though Lilly has already stated that it expects “additional future investments in manufacturing to address growth expected from potential new medicines to treat diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and autoimmune conditions.“
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