HOUSTON — Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) has unveiled plans to build a new $6.5 billion manufacturing facility at Generation Park, a 4,000-acre master-planned development in northeast Houston that is owned by McCord Development.
The active pharmaceutical product (API) facility, which represents the second of four new U.S. sites that Lilly plans to announce this year, will be used to manufacture the company’s pipeline of small molecule medicines across therapeutic areas, including cardiometabolic health, oncology, immunology and neuroscience. The project is expected to be operational within five years.
Lilly plans to bring 615 new, high-wage jobs to the greater Houston area, including engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians. The company also expects to generate 4,000 construction jobs as the project is built.
The facility will be among those that will manufacture orforglipron, Lilly’s first oral, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, which the company expects to submit to global regulatory agencies for obesity by the end of this year.
“Our new Houston site will enhance Lilly’s ability to manufacture orforglipron at scale and, if approved, help fulfill the medicine’s potential as a metabolic health treatment for tens of millions of people worldwide who prefer the ease of a pill that can be taken without food and water restrictions,” says David Ricks, Lilly chair and CEO. “This significant U.S. investment and onshoring of our API production capabilities will ensure faster, more secure access to orforglipron and to other life-changing medicines of the future.”
Earlier this year, at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Lilly unveiled plans to bolster its domestic medicine production across therapeutic areas by building four new pharmaceutical manufacturing sites in the United States. The company recently announced its project in Virginia, and plans to unveil the remaining two locations later this year.
Lilly estimates that every dollar spent on the Houston area will generate an additional four dollars in local economic stimulation. Additionally, for every job created in manufacturing, several more will be created in related sectors such as supply chain, logistics and retail.
“This $6.5 billion facility will not only bolster Houston’s economy; it will boost our life sciences sector and help cement Texas as a global leader in healthcare innovation,” says Gov. Greg Abbott.
Lilly plans to use state-of-the-art technologies at the Houston plant, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, digitally integrated systems and advanced data analytics. The company says it will collaborate with local universities and invest in educational initiatives across Texas to build a strong pipeline of talent.
Lilly says it selected Generation Park from more than 300 applications based on criteria such as workforce potential, local incentives, access to utilities and transportation and a favorable business environment.
Indianapolis-based Lilly is a pharmaceutical company with offerings for Alzheimer’s disease, pain management, cancer treatment, immune disease, diabetes and obesity. The company’s stock price opened at $745.99 per share Wednesday, Sept. 24, down from $924.43 per share one year ago, a 19 percent decrease.
— Kristin Harlow