INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly and Co. announced Friday plans to more than double the size of the drug-making facility it is building in Boone County.
Lilly CEO David Ricks said the additional $5.3 billion investment will help Lilly keep up with demand for its blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs.
"We like to think about the potential for expansion when we set things up to begin with... And it was fortuitous, we did that because we'll be using bit more land, but it's on the same site," Ricks said during a news conference Friday.
"If you drive up there now, you'll see a pretty large construction site. It's about to get two or three times larger."
Ricks said the expansion increases Lilly's total investment in the LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon from $3.7 billion to $9 billion.
The expansion will add 200 new jobs to the project for a total of 900 full-time jobs when the facility is fully operational, Lilly said in a news release.
Lilly said that building its new LEAP campus will bring in more than 5,000 construction jobs.
"Lilly continues to play a transformational role in shaping Indiana’s opportunity economy," Gov. Eric Holcomb said. "I can’t wait to see the incredible benefits this investment leads to for patients around the world, knowing they were made in Indiana."
The new Lebanon factory will produce tirzepatide, which is the active pharmaceutical ingredient to Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss drug Zepbound.
Ricks said Lilly was surprised after its December launch of Zepbound when demand for the drug was four times higher than expected.
"This plan ultimately will provide a global active pharmaceutical ingredients supply for that medicine and other future pipeline products in that category," Ricks said.
Contact WRTV reporter Vic Ryckaert at victor.ryckaert@wrtv.com or on X/Twitter: @vicryc.
