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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEli Lilly and Co. said Wednesday it will invest an additional $4.5 billion at its manufacturing site at the LEAP Lebanon Innovation District in Boone County to create a new center for advanced manufacturing and drug development.
Lilly said the expansion is expected to add 400 full-time jobs for highly skilled workers, including engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians.
The new funding will bring the Indianapolis-based drugmaker’s total investment in the Lebanon site to more than $13 billion, making the development one of the largest capital projects in Indiana history. It’s also the fourth large investment in the site announced by Lilly in the past 2-½ years.
The new center, called the Lilly Medicine Foundry, will be designed to give the pharmaceutical maker the ability to research new ways of producing medicines, while also scaling up manufacturing of medicines for clinical trials.
“As we accelerate our work to discover new medicines for the toughest diseases, we’re continuing to invest in state-of-the-art infrastructure to support our growing pipeline,” said Lilly CEO David Ricks in written comments, “In addition to supplying high-quality medicine for our clinical studies, this new complex will further strengthen our process development and scale up our manufacturing capabilities to speed delivery of next-generation medicines to patients around the world.”
The company is set to hold a press conference Wednesday morning at its Lilly Technology Center south of downtown to make a formal presentation. Expected to join Ricks for the event are Gov. Eric Holcomb, U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-Indiana), Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg and Dr. Dan Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories.
Lilly called the foundry the first-ever facility of its kind, combining research and manufacturing in a single location.
The company said the foundry will allow it to further develop solutions to optimize manufacturing processes and increase capacity for clinical trial medicines, which are smaller batches in the testing phase for patients.
The foundry is not intended to run full-scale production of medicines. New manufacturing technologies developed at the foundry will be transferred to Lilly’s other manufacturing sites for full-scale production, the company said. The foundry is scheduled to open in late 2027.
“The flexible design of this new facility will enable production of various molecular therapies, including drug substances for small molecules, biologics and nucleic acid therapies,” the company said in written remarks.
Also being constructed now on Lilly’s manufacturing site in Lebanon are more than a dozen buildings for other manufacturing purposes. Lilly broke ground on the site last year and now hundreds of construction workers are converting the rugged area from farmland into a massive industrial complex. Dozens of cranes stretch across the sky.
The earlier rounds of investments were made to fund the construction and equipment of buildings that will make active pharmaceutical ingredients for multibillion-dollar Lilly drugs, such as diabetes treatment Mounjaro, obesity treatment Zepbound, along with cell and gene therapies.
Now, the latest round of investment by Lilly will expand the 600-acre footprint by about 200 acres, the company said. The foundry will be a standalone facility made of seven main buildings. The company said it has not yet pinpointed where on the site the foundry will be located.
The state of Indiana plans to support the new site with infrastructure improvements for roads, water, electricity and other utilities. The state also offered undisclosed incentives tied to Lilly’s investment and employment goals in Lebanon.
“Lilly’s continued investment in Indiana solidifies our state’s role as a hub for cutting-edge science and technology,” Holcomb said in written remarks.
Lilly’s previous investment announcements for the site were an initial $2.1 billion in May 2022, an additional $1.6 billion in April 2023, and an additional $5.3 billion in May 2024.
The most recent round was announced less than five months ago, when Ricks broke the news to a crowd at the Global Economic Summit at the Indiana Convention Center. At the time, Lilly was overwhelmed by demand for Mounjaro, Zepbound and other drugs. The company has said the crunch has eased and pharmacies are getting much of what they ordered.
Rosenberg said the LEAP district is attracting interest from far and wide, with $18 billion in committed capital investment on 2,300 acres since its launch in 2022.
The new investment from Lilly comes amid continued commitments for additional infrastructure to support future development of the LEAP district. (LEAP stands for Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace).
Citizens Energy Group and Lebanon Utilities last month were approved for $200 million and $125 million in loans, respectively, from the State Revolving Fund to support the expansion of water service to the district. The extension from the Citizens Energy system is expected to provide up to 25 million gallons of water per day.
The project is expected to serve the water needs of the park for the next 15 to 20 years, including Lilly’s manufacturing complex expansion, new research and development facility and additional park tenants, as well as new development in the city.
The IEDC has already allocated at least $45 million for infrastructure work, including roadwork and utilities, to build out the Lilly portion of LEAP, which occupies a 600-acre swath of land east of Interstate 65.
Lilly remains the only company so far to have committed to the LEAP district, although Rosenburg indicated in a statement that additional investment could be on the way.
“Lilly’s increased investment in Indiana is creating tremendous new career opportunities for Hoosiers,” he said in written remarks. “The LEAP district in Lebanon is quickly becoming an international destination, with $18 billion in committed capital investment on 2,300 acres since its launch in 2022. LEAP and the Hardtech Corridor are attracting global leaders, talent and innovation to Indiana.”
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This is excellent for the state to retain Lilly jobs. Kudos to Eli Lilly for continuing to invest in the Hoosier community!
Every Indiana resident owes Eli Lilly a debt of gratitude. Thank you for continuing to invest in our state!
Good to see Lilly’s continued expansion. Investment to improve and widen I-65 & I-70 to 3 lanes across the entire state to meet the current and future truck and vehicular demands is imperative.
There needs to be designated commuter rail running at least from W. Lafayette to Bloomington with stops at the LEAP, Whitestown, IU Indy campus, Lily Indy Campus to IU’s main campus. Similar short rail is being developed like this around the country, except Indiana. Wake up.
OMG BRAD R. I was just telling a friend that if Indiana really wants to take a leap forward and compete against other Midwest states for higher pay jobs and companies to pick us to relocate their HQ, add a commuter rail. The new Methodist Hospital campus, IU and Purdue campus, the GM stamping plant area, to the LEAP and every where in-between. I would even have one going from the airport to downtown. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to even have a train dedicated to Ft Wayne, second largest city in Indiana as well as one up to Hamilton co. but I would make it where its only open to employees with badges or students at the different universities. Tech employees, students ect not to the general public. We all have seen what rides the IndyGO buses. Just being honest here.
I know some will say you and Kevin P are hopeless dreamers, but I for one feel better knowing you are here and advocating for improvements that can actually make this state a better place to live and, yes, to do business. Keep it up!
Kevin, I find it unlikely Indiana will ever move forward with people like you. You’ll continue electing fools who do things like ban light rail, and wonder why the State isn’t leaping forward.
You are so right, Brad. Unfortunately, state legislators disagree that mass transit would be a gamechanger for improving quality of life in the state, as shown by their banning of light rail in 2014 and their meddling in Indy’s BRT plans. I disagree with Kevin, however, that rail should not be accessible to the general public and his characterization of “what” (he means who) rides the IndyGo buses.
So, Kevin P. You want the state to spend tax money on a rail system that only the “Chosen” can ride. You are out of your mind. I can no longer take any thing you say as legitimate. I do agree the state needs to come out of the dark ages on transit,
Riley Z. I’ll say what a lot of folks aren’t willing to say openly and that is every public transit system in America is trash and plagued with crime. I rode IndyGo for a few years and would never suggest riding certain sections of it. I’ve seen fights and stabbings and there’s nothing the driving can do but pull over and wait till IMPD shows up. A commuter rail to all the tech hotspots should only be used by those employees and not for folks to joyride. If you don’t in these areas there’s no need for you to ride. Indy has the BRT for the public that’s how you compensate for public spending on the general population.
Pat B. The city already has BRT lines for the public and if you didn’t know, the very thing im bringing up is why you dont see lines from the BRT extended up to Hamilton County. They dont want homeless people aka undisrables to have access to transportation up to the suburbs to set up tents and beg for change in an empty Starbucks cup. Ive rode the subway and L’s in NYC and Chicago and it’s terrible and a breeding ground for crime. The Redline in Chicago in particular is notorious for gangs literally robbing in-front of everyone and even pulling people off the train to take them to ATM’s to withdraw funds. So yeah, Im saying a commuter rail to tech sector and universities shouldn’t be open to the general public. Just my option and there’s stats to just my prospective to be very valid.
Is LEAP Lilly’s playground or sandbox!? You decide.