Dive Brief:
- Eli Lilly broke ground Monday on a $6.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Houston, one of 10 sites the company has announced in the U.S. since 2020, according to a news release.
- Bechtel’s manufacturing and technology business unit is supporting the project, according to a job posting from the Reston, Virginia-based general contractor. Eli Lilly and Bechtel didn’t immediately confirm Bechtel’s involvement.
- The Houston project forms part of Eli Lilly’s $50 billion push to reshore medicine production to the U.S., according to the pharmaceutical giant.
Dive Insight:
The Houston groundbreaking tacks on to a number of other multibillion-dollar sites in the company’s pipeline.
For example, last September, Eli Lilly announced plans to build a $5 billion manufacturing facility outside of Richmond, Virginia, focused on cancer and autoimmune treatments. Another major project announced in December includes a $6 billion plant in Huntsville, Alabama, which will produce weight loss medications and other pharmaceutical ingredients.
Other project sites include Lebanon, Indiana; Concord, North Carolina; Kenosha, Wisconsin; and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, according to the release.
The Houston facility will use state-of-the-art technologies, such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, digitally integrated systems and advanced data analytics. Eli Lilly also will embed digital automation throughout the site to streamline operations and ensure quality medicines, according to the release.
Once operational, the plant will manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients for Foundayo, Eli Lilly’s first synthetic oral GLP-1 weight loss drug, along with other small-molecule medicines and advanced therapeutics, according to the news release.
“We are thrilled to break ground on our latest ‘medicines made in America’ site in the great state of Texas,” David Ricks, Eli Lilly chair and CEO, said in the release. “We will make and ship Lilly’s latest products from Texas to people here at home and around the world.”
