Pharmaceutical company, Lilly, selects Virginia location for $5 billion API production facility, primarily focused on Advanced Drug Conjugates (ADCs).
Eli Lilly Announces New $5 Billion Manufacturing Plant in Virginia. Google News reports that pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has chosen Goochland County, Virginia, as the location for a new $5 billion manufacturing plant. The facility will be the first-ever dedicated, fully integrated active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and drug product facility for Eli Lilly's bioconjugate platform and monoclonal antibody portfolio. Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president and president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations, expressed that the Goochland County facility represents a significant milestone for Lilly, as it begins building its first bioconjugate facility. The plant will manufacture APIs for therapies designed to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and other disorders, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). The decision to locate in Goochland County was based on several factors, including workforce potential, utility access, transportation, zoning, and economic incentives. The project has been secured with the assistance of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Goochland County, and the General Assembly's Major Employment and Investment (MEI) Project Approval Commission. Eli Lilly employs more than 49,000 people worldwide, with approximately half based in the United States. The company has manufacturing facilities in nine countries, including the United States, with sites in Indiana, North Carolina, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico. The Goochland County API site will create 1,800 construction jobs and more than 650 high-paying jobs for engineers, scientists, operations personnel, and lab technicians. The investment in Virginia underscores Eli Lilly's commitment to U.S. innovation and manufacturing, as stated by the company's chair and CEO, David A. Ricks. Ricks also mentioned that the expansion of domestic capacity is building a secure, resilient supply chain that delivers for patients today and supports the breakthrough medicines of tomorrow. This announcement is part of Eli Lilly's increased spending on U.S.-based manufacturing, which the company announced in February would significantly increase, roughly doubling to more than $50 billion since 2020. The new plant is one of four new facilities that Eli Lilly plans to build as part of this increased spending. Three of the other three locations for the new facilities will be announced later this year. Ricks announced that Eli Lilly plans two manufacturing site announcements during the current third quarter. Virginia is part of the BioHealth Capital Region, ranking third in GEN's most recent A-List of Top 10 U.S. Biopharma Clusters. The announcements by Eli Lilly and other biopharma CEOs for new and renovated facilities total over $290 billion, highlighting the ongoing investment in the biopharmaceutical industry. Eli Lilly is eligible for an MEI Commission-approved special appropriation of up to $130 million, subject to Virginia General Assembly approval. This investment is a testament to the attractiveness of Virginia as a location for biopharmaceutical manufacturing and innovation.
.){kind=link}