Eli Lilly and Company has broken ground on its previously announced $6.5-billion small-molecule medicines and advanced therapeutics manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas. The facility is part of the company’s previously announced $50-billion US-based capital expansion plan.    

The new facility will manufacture Lilly’s Foundayo (orforglipron), an oral small-molecule (non-peptide) glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) for weight management in adults with obesity or adults with overweight and a weight-related condition, along with other small-molecule medicines and advanced therapeutics. Foundayo is currently under regulatory review in more than 40 countries, with a full global rollout targeted for 2027. Lilly is also studying Foundayo for other uses, including Type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea, with data expected later this year (2026). In addition to Foundayo, the Houston site will focus on advanced therapeutics, which includes oligonucleotides.  

Since 2020, Lilly has announced investments for 10 sites. Five will produce APIs— Richmond, Virginia; Huntsville, Alabama; Houston, Texas—and two sites in Lebanon, Indiana (Lebanon API and Lilly Medicine Foundry) will focus on new production methods and making medicines for clinical trials. Four will make injectable medicines and manufacture devices: Research Triangle Park and Concord, North Carolina; Kenosha, Wisconsin; and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. One will make genetic medicines, Lebanon Advanced Therapies.  

Details of some of these investments are further outlined below.  

• Virginia: $5 billion for a new API and drug-product manufacturing facility, including for the company’s emerging bioconjugate platform and monoclonal antibody portfolio;     

• Alabama: $6 billion in a small-molecule API and peptide manufacturing facility; 

• Puerto Rico: $1.2 billion to expand an existing facility for oral solid medicines, including for manufacturing orforglipron; 

• Pennsylvania: $3.5 billion for an injectable medicine and device manufacturing facility that will produce weight-loss therapies; and 

• Indiana: $4.5-billion investment across two of its three sites in Lebanon, Indiana, for API manufacturing and genetic medicine manufacturing. 

Lilly expects the new site in Houston will create 600 high-skilled jobs, including engineers, scientists, operations personnel, and lab technicians. The company is also providing $12.5 million to support a relationship with San Jacinto College to support advanced chemical synthesis manufacturing careers, with no prior experience required. This relationship will focus on developing training pathways and expanding the equipment and facility capacity needed to produce technicians, operators, maintenance professionals, and other manufacturing talent, while also leveraging Lilly experts to support curriculum development and instructor readiness and preparation. Separately, Lilly is providing a $2.5-million charitable donation to the San Jacinto College Foundation to support scholarships for eligible students. 

Source: Eli Lilly and Company