Eli Lilly has announced a significant $4.5 billion investment to establish the Lilly Medicine Foundry, a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to drug production and manufacturing medicines for clinical trials. The new facility will be located in Indiana’s LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon.
The Lilly Medicine Foundry is designed to integrate advanced manufacturing technologies with drug development, enhancing the company’s capabilities in producing medicines for clinical trials and exploring innovative manufacturing solutions. This initiative is expected to optimize processes, boost trial medicine capacity, and reduce both costs and environmental impact. The facility will accommodate the production of a wide range of molecular therapies, including small molecules, biologics, and nucleic acid therapies.
According to Eli Lilly, technological advancements developed at the Medicine Foundry will be implemented across its entire manufacturing network for broader application. The strategic location within the LEAP district is expected to foster synergy with Lilly Research Laboratories in Indianapolis and the company’s existing Lebanon manufacturing sites.
Eli Lilly chair and CEO David Ricks stated, “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.”
This investment builds upon Lilly’s ongoing expansion in Lebanon. In May 2022, the company announced a $2.1 billion investment in two new sites for active ingredients and modalities. Ground-breaking for these sites occurred in April 2023, with an additional investment of $1.6 billion. In May 2024, Lilly pledged a further $5.3 billion to enhance active pharmaceutical ingredient production capacity, focusing on treatments for diabetes and obesity. The increased investment reflects the company's strong financial performance, driven in part by the success of drugs like Zepbound, which led to an increased revenue forecast for 2024.
