Eli Lilly is set to build a massive new $6 billion facility in Huntsville, Alabama, part of a growing U.S. push to bring medicine manufacturing back home. The site will make active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for small-molecule synthetic and peptide medicines. That includes orforglipron, Lilly’s first weight-loss drug.
Construction kicks off in 2026 and is expected to finish in 2032. Once built, the plant will employ about 450 engineers, scientists, lab techs, and operations staff. The company says this investment will strengthen supply-chain resilience and ensure more stable access to medicines for patients in the U.S.
Alabama’s Huntsville was chosen from more than 300 applicant sites. Its proximity to the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, a bioscience campus that supports workforce training, helped make the decision. The region also offers good utility access, transport links, and favorable zoning, as well as tax and other incentives.
Lilly says the new plant will build on its broader expansion of U.S. manufacturing. Earlier this year, it announced a new facility in Virginia, another in Texas, and an expansion of its operations in Puerto Rico.Â
As Lilly’s executives put it: “By establishing this new facility, Lilly is deepening America’s expertise in advanced chemical synthesis and setting new standards for sustainable manufacturing,” and the move “reinforces our commitment to environmental stewardship… leveraging innovative processes to minimize waste and achieve carbon neutrality.”
This new Alabama site is the company’s ninth U.S. manufacturing location declared since 2020.
