Lilly breaks ground on $3.5B Pa. plant

Eli Lilly and Company has begun construction on a $3.5 billion manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley to produce next‑generation injectable medicines, including the investigational obesity treatment retatrutide. The site, located at 8810 Main Street in Fogelsville, Pennsylvania, is described by the governor as the largest life sciences project in Pennsylvania history and is one of 10 new U.S. manufacturing sites Lilly has announced since 2020.

The groundbreaking ceremony on November 12, 2026, features remarks from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Lilly Chair and CEO David Ricks, and local economic development leaders. The facility is expected to be operational by 2031 and is intended to serve patients in Pennsylvania, across the United States, and globally.

The Lehigh Valley site will add capacity for the next generation of obesity treatments, including retatrutide, which Lilly describes as a first‑in‑class investigational GIP, GLP‑1 and glucagon triple hormone receptor agonist. The facility will manufacture injectable medicines and related devices, positioning it as one of four Lilly sites dedicated to such products among the 10 new U.S. locations.

Retatrutide is being studied in several Phase 3 clinical trials for obesity, overweight with weight‑related medical problems, type 2 diabetes, knee osteoarthritis pain, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic low back pain, cardiovascular outcomes, and metabolic dysfunction‑associated steatotic liver disease. As an investigational molecule, it cannot be legally sold or marketed, and Lilly notes the inherent risks and uncertainties in drug development and regulatory approval.

Lilly expects the Lehigh Valley facility to create 850 high‑wage positions, including engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians, along with approximately 2,000 construction jobs as the site is built. The project is part of Lilly’s broader $50 billion program to expand medicine production in the United States, aimed at strengthening American manufacturing and supporting a reliable supply of high‑quality medicines.

The plant is designed around advanced manufacturing technologies, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, digitally integrated systems and advanced data analytics. Digital automation will be embedded throughout the site, supporting what Lilly describes as right‑first‑time execution and extensive quality controls before any dose of medicine leaves the facility.

Lilly plans to operate the Lehigh Valley site to high standards of safety, quality and environmental stewardship and is targeting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. The facility is intended to pair a highly skilled local workforce with advanced technologies to support sustainable performance as production scales.

As part of its community commitment, Lilly will provide up to $1 million over five years to the Upper Macungie Township Community Fund. The funding will support a new quality‑of‑life initiative for Lehigh Valley families, with a focus on nutrition and healthy living, fresh food access, health resources and community programming at the Upper Macungie Community Center.