Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) on Tuesday announced it will invest $5B to build a new manufacturing facility in Virginia as part of the weight loss drugmaker’s plans to add four new manufacturing sites within the next five years.
Located just west of Richmond, Virginia, the new plant is expected to focus on producing active pharmaceutical ingredients and other drug components for Lilly’s bioconjugate platform and monoclonal antibody portfolio.
The site will also be used in the production of antibody-drug conjugates, a new class of cancer drugs that have already shown potential against a range of other diseases, including autoimmune conditions, in studies.
Once operational, the site is expected to create over 650 high-paying jobs, the Indiana-based drugmaker said. The project, backed by the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, is also anticipated to generate 1,800 construction jobs for the regional economy.
LLY’s Virginia plant is the first of four manufacturing sites the company plans to announce this year as part of its $50B commitment to U.S. capital expansion made since 2020.