Lilly to spend $3B to expand Wisconsin factory

Under pressure to keep up with soaring demand for drug treatments for obesity, diabetes and other diseases, Eli Lilly and Co. is planning a $3 billion expansion of a Wisconsin manufacturing plant that it acquired earlier this year.

The Indianapolis-based drugmaker announced Thursday it plans to start work on the expansion next year, a move that will mark the company’s single largest U.S. manufacturing investment outside of Indiana.

Since launching obesity treatment Zepbound in December 2023, Lilly has been overwhelmed by demand for the drug, as well as for diabetes treatment Mounjaro, which launched in May 2022.

Lilly reported $3.1 billion in Mounjaro sales and $1.26 billion of Zepbound sales in the third quarter alone.

Demand for Zepbound could increase sharply under a proposed new rule announced last month by the Biden administration to have weight-loss drugs covered by Medicare or Medicaid. It’s unclear whether the incoming Trump administration will support or block the measure, which could cost the government tens of billions of dollars.

Lilly has been on a tear to expand its manufacturing footprint to meet worldwide demand. Since 2020, Lilly has committed more than $23 billion to construct, expand and acquire manufacturing sites worldwide.

Indiana alone is seeing $13.5 billion in spending for Lilly facilities at the LEAP Lebanon Innovation District in Boone County for a huge new medicines factory, research center and manufacturing operations.

The newest announced Lilly facility will be in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, in the southeastern part of the state, near Lake Michigan. Lilly said Thursday the investment will extend its injectable product manufacturing network, helping to meet demand for diabetes, obesity and future pipeline medicines across therapeutic areas.

The company said it expects to add 750 highly skilled jobs to the current 100-plus workforce at the Wisconsin location. The jobs will include operators, technicians, engineers and scientists.

“We look forward to bringing high-wage, advanced manufacturing, engineering and science jobs to people in Wisconsin, a state that is becoming a critical geography in our global manufacturing operations,” said Edgardo Hernandez, president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations, in written remarks.

Lilly announced in April that it agreed to acquire the manufacturing facility from Nexus Pharmaceuticals LLC. The acquisition, expansion and additional purchases of land and the adjacent warehouse bring Lilly’s total planned investment in Wisconsin to $4 billion.

The expanded facility will focus on making injectable medicines, device assembly and packaging. Lilly said it will use advanced automation, including guided vehicles, robotics and production equipment.

The announcement is a boon for Wisconsin, where the biohealth sector employes about 52,000 people, according to BioForward Wisconsin, an advocacy group. Biohealth includes industries like academic research, pharmaceuticals, technology development, manufacturing and digital health.

Wisconsin this year was awarded nearly $50 million in federal grant funding after being designated as a regional tech hub. Indiana’s Heartland BioWorks also was named a regional tech hub and won $51 million in federal grant funding.

“Southeastern Wisconsin has seen tremendous growth over the past year with major companies announcing significant investments in our state, and we are thrilled to add Lilly to the growing list with their $3 billion expansion that will add 750 highly skilled, family-supporting jobs to Kenosha County,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in written remarks.

Lilly said digital automation will be embedded throughout the new site to accelerate processes and increase accuracy, allowing employees to focus on making safe, high-quality medicines.