Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company has announced a major expansion of its US manufacturing footprint with a $3.5 billion investment in a new facility in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, dedicated to producing injectable medicines. These will include next‑generation obesity and metabolic treatments, such as Lilly’s investigational next-gen GLP-1 obesity drug retatrutide.
The planned plant, set to begin construction in 2026 and expected to be operational by 2031, will produce both injectable therapies and delivery devices as part of Lilly’s strategic response to skyrocketing demand for weight‑loss and diabetes drugs.
Retatrutide, a triple‑agonist targeting GIP, GLP‑1 and glucagon receptors, posted robust results in late‑stage clinical testing, beating out Zepbound, and represents the kind of next‑generation therapy the new site is designed to support.
Lilly selected the Lehigh Valley location from more than 300 applicants in part because of its strong STEM workforce, established manufacturing infrastructure and proximity to research institutions, positioning the site as a future life sciences hub in the Northeast US.
The project will create approximately 850 permanent pharmaceutical jobs and around 2,000 construction roles, bringing substantial economic activity to the region.
The facility is also expected to integrate advanced technologies such as AI, machine learning and data analytics to optimize production and supply chain resilience.
“Our mission starts with patients and delivering the medicines they need. To meet increasing demand, we’re expanding our US manufacturing network, with Lehigh Valley adding capacity for next‑generation weight-loss medicines. We’re creating high‑quality jobs and collaborating across the region, with suppliers, educators and workforce‑development partners — to make critical medicines in the US,” said David A. Ricks, Lilly Chair and CEO in the announcement. “That’s our commitment, to patients, to our new Pennsylvania home and to our country.”
Lilly said expanding its manufacturing presence in Pennsylvania will boost the Lehigh Valley economy. Lilly estimates that for every dollar the company invests, up to four dollars will be added to local economic activity. “Also, for each manufacturing job created, several more will be generated in related sectors like supply chain, logistics and retail,” the company said.
Related: Eli Lilly Goes Big on Global Manufacturing with $3B Europe Facility and $1.2B Puerto Rico Expansion
The Pennsylvania investment marks the latest in Lilly’s broader US expansion, which has seen the company commit more than $50 billion to domestic manufacturing capacity since 2020, a push aligned with industry‑wide efforts to onshore pharmaceutical production and strengthen the supply of critical medicines for American patients.
In addition to the recently announced $3.5 billion obesity drug facility in Pennsylvania, the company is investing more than $1.2 billion to expand its Lilly del Caribe site in Carolina, Puerto Rico, modernizing production of oral medicines, including the anticipated weight‑loss pill orforglipron and supporting cardiometabolic, neuroscience, oncology and immunology portfolios.
The investments build on Lilly’s broader plan that includes major facilities in Europe to strengthen supply chains and scale advanced drug manufacturing closer to key markets worldwide. In November 2025, Lilly announced plans for a new $3 billion facility in Katwijk, the Netherlands, to boost oral medicine manufacturing capacity in Europe.
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