American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company has announced plans to more than double its investment in the Limitless Exploration Advanced Pace (LEAP) research and innovation district in Lebanon, Indiana, USA. This expanded investment will boost the company’s capacity to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for its latest type 2 diabetes and obesity medications.
The announcement, made during the recent ‘Indiana 2024 Global Economic Summit,’ reveals a new $5.3 billion expansion, bringing Lilly’s total LEAP investment to $9 billion. The LEAP district is designed as a global innovation hub, modeled after North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, with land available for manufacturing, R&D facilities, and corporate campuses.
“This announcement tops the largest manufacturing investment in our company’s history and, we believe, represents the single largest investment in synthetic medicine API manufacturing in US history,” stated Lilly Chair and CEO David Ricks. “This multi-site campus will make our latest medicines, support pipeline growth, and leverage the latest technology and automation for maximum efficiency, safety, and quality control,” he added.
Since 2020, Lilly has committed over $16 billion to developing new manufacturing sites in the US and Europe, including locations in Research Triangle Park and Concord, North Carolina; Limerick, Ireland; and Alzey, Germany. Additionally, Lilly has invested $1.2 billion to update existing manufacturing facilities in Indianapolis, USA.
In May 2022, Lilly initially announced a $2.1 billion investment at LEAP. At the groundbreaking ceremony in April 2023, an additional $1.6 billion investment was announced. Since then, Lilly has transformed a significant portion of its 600-acre site into an active construction zone, with expectations to begin medicine production there by late 2026.