Eli Lilly Expands U.S. Manufacturing with New Pennsylvania Facility
The USD 3.5 billion site reflects Lilly’s strategy to expand domestic capacity for glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP‑1) drugs amid soaring demand and supply‑chain scrutiny.
Eli Lilly is further committing to U.S.-based drug manufacturing with plans to invest more than USD 3.5 billion in a new injectable medicine and device facility in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. The plant will manufacture the company’s injectable products, including retatrutide — Lilly’s first‑in‑class investigational glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), GLP‑1, and glucagon triple hormone receptor agonist for obesity and metabolic disease (1).
The Lehigh Valley site marks the company’s fourth new U.S. plant announced since February 2025. Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with the facility slated to come online in 2031, adding significant capacity at a time when payers, policymakers, and patients are closely watching the sustainability of supply for GLP‑1–based, and other incretin, drugs.
Selection of Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley followed a competitive process involving more than 300 proposals, with Lilly citing the region’s strong technical manufacturing base, infrastructure, and proximity to STEM‑focused universities as decisive factors. The facility is expected to integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, integrated monitoring, and data analytics to support efficient operations and reliable supply to align with broader industry moves toward highly automated, data‑rich manufacturing environments.
"Our mission starts with patients and delivering the medicines they need. To meet increasing demand, we're expanding our U.S. manufacturing network, with Lehigh Valley adding capacity for next‑generation weight-loss medicines,” said David A. Ricks, Lilly Chair and CEO, in a company press release (1). We're creating high‑quality jobs and collaborating across the region — with suppliers, educators, and workforce‑development partners — to make critical medicines in the U.S."
“Our newest injectable medicine and device manufacturing facility — will increase access to next-generation weight-loss treatments and improve the domestic supply of essential medicines for current and future patients," added Edgardo Hernandez, Executive Vice President of Lilly and President of Lilly’s Manufacturing Operations, in the press release (1).
Lilly expects to create around 850 permanent jobs at the site, spanning engineers, scientists, operations staff and lab technicians, alongside roughly 2,000 construction roles during the build phase. For every dollar invested, Lilly estimates up to four dollars of incremental local economic activity, reflecting knock‑on effects across supply chain, logistics, retail and professional services.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro welcomed the move by the company. "Lilly's commitment to the Lehigh Valley and to Pennsylvania will bring billions of dollars of investment and hundreds of good-paying jobs, solidifying our position as a leader in the growing life sciences industry," he stated in the press release (1).
The Pennsylvania expansion complements Lilly’s broader manufacturing build‑out in the U.S., as the company races main rival Novo Nordisk to increase capacity for injectable drugs that have reshaped the obesity and diabetes treatment landscape. The new, highly automated fill/finish hub in the Lehigh Valley, signals Lilly’s confidence in the long‑term obesity market and a willingness to tie that growth to regional economic development and public‑private partnership.
Reference
Eli Lilly. Lilly Selects Pennsylvania as Home for its Newest Injectable Medicine and Device Manufacturing Facility. Press Release, Jan. 30, 2026.