Lilly expects to open 615 high-wage roles in Texas in connection with its new facility, plus around 4,000 construction roles.
The next stop on Eli Lilly’s multibillion-dollar manufacturing blitz is Houston, Texas, where the pharma plans to construct a new $6.5 billion production plant set to go live in the next five years.
The project will bring 615 “high-wage” roles to the greater Houston area, Lilly said in a news release on Tuesday, adding that construction activities will also open around 4,000 jobs. Once online, the Houston plant will focus on small-molecule manufacturing across a broad range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology and neuroscience.
Importantly, Lilly also plans to produce its next-generation weight-loss pill orforglipron at this Texas facility, according to the press announcement. This is in line with an April promise from CEO David Ricks who, after a Phase III readout for the drug, told Fox Business that the pharma would produce orforglipron “here in the United States.”
Regulatory preparations for orforglipron are underway, with a filing anticipated by the end of the year.
The Texas site is the second major investment that Lilly has revealed this year. The company in February unwrapped a $27 billion package meant to boost domestic manufacturing amid threats of pharmaceutical tariffs from President Donald Trump.
Last week, Lilly announced that one of the construction projects under this commitment would go to Richmond, Virginia, with a $5 billion facility. The company estimates it will add some 2,450 jobs in the area, including 650 roles for skilled engineers, scientists, lab technicians and operations personnel. Like the Texas plant, the manufacturing site in Virginia is slated to be complete “within the next five years.”
Lilly plans to unveil two more manufacturing projects this year, according to its news release on Tuesday.
Since 2020, the pharma has invested around $50 billion in the U.S. In May 2022, Lilly spent $2.1 billion to build two production plants in Indiana. Last year, the company also announced a $5.3 billion package in May for its blockbuster therapy tirzepatide, and made a $4.5 billion commitment in October for a hybrid facility housing both R&D and manufacturing operations.
Aside from Lilly, many other pharma giants have made major investments in the U.S. in recent months. Leading the pack is Johnson & Johnson, which in March pledged $55 billion, so far the largest commitment announced. Close behind are Roche and AstraZeneca, which have each promised $50 billion in U.S.-based investments.
