UPPER MACUNGIE, PA. — Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) will open a $3.5 billion manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley community of Upper Macungie. The development will span about 925,000 square feet across multiple buildings and is expected to bring about 850 new jobs to the region. A construction timeline was not announced.
Lilly is acquiring the property at 9802 Main St. in Upper Macungie from Jaindl Land Development for the project. According to local news outlet WFMZ, this property is known as Fogelsville Corporate Center and is undeveloped agricultural land. In addition to the 850 permanent jobs, development of the new facility is expected to create about 2,000 construction jobs.
According to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the state committed more than $100 million in incentives to land the project, including $50 million in tax credits. Lehigh Carbon Community College will receive additional state funding and feed Lilly’s talent pipeline by creating and expanding academic and workforce training programs in life sciences.
“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,” Shapiro said on Friday, Jan. 30, before a crowd of about 200 local and regional government, company, education and community leaders.
Based in Indianapolis, Lilly is perhaps best known within pharmaceutical circles for its pioneering weight-loss medications. In December 2025, Lilly became the first drugmaker to reach $1 trillion in market value, buoyed by sales of weight loss and diabetes medications including Mounjaro and Zepbound.
According to the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., (LVEDC) the region competed with more than 300 other locations throughout the country to secure Lilly’s investment. The organization also notes that the deal represents the largest single economic development project in Lehigh Valley history and the largest life sciences project in Pennsylvania history.
In selecting Lehigh Valley, Lilly cited the fact that the region is within “a day’s drive of one-third of the U.S. population.” The company also pointed to the region’s infrastructure, skilled workforce, higher education system and commitment by local, regional and state officials as instrumental to its decision. Lehigh Valley is currently home to about 180 life sciences operations that employ some 5,800 people, according to LVEDC.
“Everyone was committed to the same thing, which is building a high-quality facility, providing great jobs for people in the region and being involved in a growing industry in life sciences and life sciences manufacturing,” said Lilly CEO David Ricks. “Additionally, the commitment to rapid permitting, availability of land, logistics and the ecosystem around us that really supports what we do, were really defining points in making this decision.”
Lilly recently announced similar, multibillion-dollar manufacturing facilities in Houston and in Richmond. The company also recently leased 44,000 square feet of life sciences space in Philadelphia.
Lilly’s stock price closed on Friday, Jan. 30 at $1,037.15 per share, up from $810.43 a year ago, a nearly 28 percent increase.
— Taylor Williams