Eli Lilly to build $5B manufacturing facility in Virginia

Eli Lilly (LLY) and Company plans to build a $5B manufacturing facility just west of Richmond, Virginia, in Goochland County. The new site will be the company’s first dedicated, fully integrated active pharmaceutical ingredient and drug product facility for Lilly’s emerging bioconjugate platform and monoclonal antibody portfolio. Earlier this year, at a press conference in Washington, D.C., Lilly announced plans to bolster its domestic medicine production across therapeutic areas by building four new pharmaceutical manufacturing sites in the United States. The planned Virginia facility is the first to be announced and is part of the company’s $50 billion in U.S. capital expansion commitments since 2020. At this site, Lilly will also boost its domestic manufacturing of antibody-drug conjugates. An ADC is a targeted therapy designed to deliver potent medicines directly to diseased cells. By combining the precision of monoclonal antibodies with the power of cytotoxic medicines, ADCs can act like highly specialized carriers, maximizing treatment effectiveness while reducing harm to healthy tissue. They are primarily used to treat cancer but are being explored for autoimmune diseases and other conditions. Expected to be completed within the next five years, the manufacturing site will bring more than 650 new high-paying jobs to Virginia, including highly skilled engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians. The project is anticipated to bring 1,800 construction jobs to the region and greatly benefit the local economy.