Eli Lilly has broken ground on a $6.5bn pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, as part of the company’s drive to expand domestic production of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API).
The Houston site is one of 10 US manufacturing facilities Lilly has announced since 2020 and will be the company’s fifth US location dedicated to API production. It will manufacture Foundayo (orforglipron), Lilly’s first synthetic oral GLP-1 medicine, alongside other small-molecule medicines and advanced therapeutics. The investment forms part of Lilly’s broader $50bn programme to expand US manufacturing capacity, aimed at meeting growing domestic demand while increasing the company’s ability to export medicines manufactured in the US.
“We are thrilled to break ground on our latest ‘medicines made in America’ site in the great state of Texas,” said David A. Ricks, Lilly chair and CEO.
“This $6.5bn investment will help change the game for tens of millions of people suffering from overweight, obesity and its consequences like diabetes. We will make and ship Lilly’s latest products from Texas to people here at home and around the world.”
Scaling next-generation medicines
Foundayo is a GLP-1 receptor agonist approved in the US for weight management in adults with obesity, or those who are overweight with a weight-related condition. Unlike peptide-based GLP-1 medicines, Foundayo is a small molecule, which Lilly says can be manufactured using more established technologies and is therefore more readily scalable. The drug is currently under regulatory review in more than 40 countries, with Lilly targeting a global rollout in 2027. The company is also investigating the medicine for applications including type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea.
The Houston facility will also produce advanced therapeutics including oligonucleotides, a class of medicines designed to act at the genetic level by switching off the production of specific proteins. Lilly said the facility will incorporate machine learning, artificial intelligence, digitally integrated systems and advanced data analytics to support manufacturing operations and improve right-first-time execution. Digital automation will be integrated throughout the site to streamline production and support the consistent supply of medicines meeting safety and quality requirements.
Building Houston’s manufacturing workforce
The project is expected to create more than 600 high-wage permanent jobs spanning engineering, science, operations and laboratory roles, while approximately 4,000 construction jobs will be created as the facility is built and brought online.
Lilly is also investing in developing the local workforce. The company is providing $12.5m to support a partnership with San Jacinto College, creating training pathways into advanced chemical synthesis manufacturing for people without prior industry experience. The programme will help train technicians, operators, maintenance professionals and other manufacturing workers, while Lilly specialists will contribute to curriculum development and instructor preparation.
A further $2.5m charitable donation to the San Jacinto College Foundation will support scholarships for eligible students.
“When you invest in a place like Houston, you invest in its people first,” said Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president and president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations.
“This facility will run on the talent of this community, powered by our relationship with San Jacinto College.”
Lilly’s wider US manufacturing expansion includes facilities for API production in Richmond, Virginia; Huntsville, Alabama; Houston; and two locations in Lebanon, Indiana. The company is also developing facilities for injectable medicines and devices in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, alongside a genetic medicines facility in Lebanon, Indiana.
The Houston project adds further capacity to Lilly’s US manufacturing footprint as the pharmaceutical sector invests in domestic production of increasingly complex medicines.
Never miss a North American manufacturing story
Sign up for our free weekly North American Manufacturing Digital Briefing to receive the latest industry news, insights and analysis direct to your inbox every Monday.
