A sign with the company logo is displayed outside Eli Lilly headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 17, 2024.
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Eli Lilly On Thursday, it announced it would invest $1.8 billion to boost manufacturing of its recently approved Alzheimer's drug and popular weight-loss and diabetes treatments, among other medications, in Ireland.
The pharmaceutical giant is investing $1 billion to expand an existing plant in Limerick, Ireland, to increase production of certain active ingredients in medicines, including those used in its Alzheimer's treatment, Kisunla. That drug, which works by slowing the progression of the disease in people in its early stages, received U.S. approval in July.
Eli Lilly also announced an $800 million facility expansion In Kinsale, Ireland, where the company began manufacturing drugs last year to meet demand for its diabetes and obesity treatments, it said in a statement.
Demand for Eli Lilly’s obesity drug Zepbound and diabetes shot Mounjaro has outstripped supply over the past year, forcing the company to invest heavily to ramp up production. Eli Lilly has invested more than $20 billion to buy, build and expand manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Europe since 2020.
“These investments will boost production of some of our medicines, helping millions of people with diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer's disease live the healthiest lives possible,” said Edgardo Hernandez, president of manufacturing operations at Eli Lilly. “But we won't stop there: These state-of-the-art facilities will also be equipped to support our promising pipeline molecules of the future.”
Eli Lilly's main rival in the field of weight loss drugs, New Nordiskhas also invested billions to boost production of its own treatments.
