Eli Lilly has announced a $3bn expansion to the US manufacturing facility that it acquired from Nexus Pharmaceuticals earlier this year.
The investment in Kenosha County, Wisconsin is aimed at extending the company’s global injectable product manufacturing network to help it meet the growing demand for its diabetes and obesity medicines, as well as future pipeline drugs across multiple therapeutic areas.
The expanded facility, which brings Lilly’s total planned investment in Wisconsin to $4bn, will focus on manufacturing injectable medicines, device assembly and packaging.
Lilly said it will use advanced automation, including guided vehicles, robotics and production equipment, throughout the site to accelerate processes and increase accuracy, which the company said will allow employees to “focus on making safe, high-quality medicines”.
Construction on the expansion is expected to begin next year and, once complete, the facility is set to add 750 highly skilled jobs to the current 100-plus workforce at the Wisconsin location.
The commitment represents Lilly’s single largest US manufacturing investment outside its home state of Indiana, explained Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president and president of Lilly manufacturing operations.
“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,” he said.
Lilly first announced its acquisition of the manufacturing facility from Nexus for an undisclosed sum in April. The site does not provide contract manufacturing services, meaning it is solely dedicated to Lilly’s manufacturing efforts.
Hernandez said at the time that the company was “[looking] forward to welcoming talented new Nexus colleagues to Lilly from the Pleasant Prairie facility”.
“We are investing boldly to serve our patients, to meet product demand and to build capabilities for our robust pipeline of the future,” he added.
Nexus’ president and chief executive officer, Usman Ahmed, said in the original announcement: “We are excited Lilly is continuing our family’s mission of providing lifesaving medications to those who need them most… The combination of our teams and infrastructure with Lilly’s global platform will benefit patients all over the world.”