Raquel Natalicchio | Houston Chronicle | Getty Images
It is the third facility in a series of new planned US investments by the drugmaker. Eli Lilly announced in February that it would spend at least $27 billion to build four new domestic factories, adding to $23 billion in previous investments since 2020.
The company said it expects construction of the Alabama plant to start in 2026 and be completed in 2032.
“Today’s investment continues the onshoring of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing, strengthening supply chain resilience and reliable access to medicines for patients in the U.S.,” said David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly.
That extra manufacturing capacity for Eli Lilly’s obesity pill, or forglipron, is crucial as the company races to apply for approval and maintain its dominance in the booming market for GLP-1s. The company and its main rival, Novo Nordisk, have faced supply shortages for their existing weekly injections after US demand skyrocketed in recent years, although they have managed to alleviate those problems.
Eli Lily’s pill in November won a priority review voucher from the Food and Drug Administration, which will significantly speed up the drug’s regulatory review to possibly several months.
Drug makers are trying to ramp up production in the US following threats from President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical products imported into the US. But concerns about those potential tariffs have subsided following recent drug pricing agreements with Trump, which exempt companies from the duties.
Eli Lilly said the Alabama location will bring 450 jobs to the area, including engineers, scientists, operations staff and laboratory technicians, as well as 3,000 construction jobs.
#Eli #Lilly #build #billion #factory #Alabama #emerging #obesity #pill #drugs