A rendering of the new Houston facility. [Image courtesy of Eli Lilly]
The planned next-generation synthetic medicine active pharmaceutical product (API) facility marks the second of four new sites Lilly plans to announce this year. It follows the announcement of a $5 billion manufacturing facility in Goochland County, Virginia, announced last week.
Earlier this year, the company announced its plans to bolster domestic medicine production across therapeutic areas. That included the building of four new pharmaceutical sites in the U.S.
In Houston, the company expects focus to center on manufacturing the company’s pipeline of small molecule medicines across therapeutic areas. Those include cardiometabolic health, oncology, immunology and neuroscience. Lilly expects to make it operational within five years, bringing 615 new high-wage jobs to the Greater Houston area. New positions include highly skilled engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians. Lilly also expects to generate 4,000 construction jobs as the site is built out and brought online.
Lilly plans to use state-of-the-art technologies including machine learning, AI, digitally integrated systems and advanced data analytics. It intends to collaborate with local universities and invest in educational initiatives across Texas to build a talent pipeline.
Notably, the company expects to manufacture orforglipron, its first oral, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, in Houston. It anticipates global regulatory submissions for treating 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,” said David A. 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.”
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