Eli Lilly is rapidly increasing its presence in Ireland with a $1 billion expansion to bolster its biologic drug production and a separate $800 million investment to further grow its GLP-1 manufacturing.
Lilly said it has completed the $800 million extension at a site in Kinsale to increase production for its blockbuster obesity and diabetes drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, according to a Thursday release.
Meanwhile, the drugmaker will also spend $1 billion to build out its facility in Limerick to increase production of biologic drug product APIs, particularly for its Alzheimer’s drug Kisunla, which secured FDA approval two months ago. API production is anticipated to begin in 2026.
The Limerick extension will add tools that feature artificial intelligence, automated robotics and machine learning to the site, the company said. It will also add around 150 new jobs across various roles, including scientists, engineers and operations, bringing the factory’s total headcount to 450. Construction still needs to gain planning approval, and Lilly plans to submit an application soon.
Lilly has already made significant investments in Limerick, most recently with a $500 million boost in August last year that added 300 new jobs. In January 2022, Lilly invested $446 million to expand API and monoclonal antibody production. So far, the company has spent a total of $2 billion on this factory, Lilly said.
Lilly and rival Novo Nordisk have been racing to boost manufacturing for their respective GLP-1s. Lilly has been working on boosting capacity with a new $5.2 billion build in its home state of Indiana for manufacturing APIs for tirzepatide, as well as snapping up a sterile injectable site from Nexus Pharma.
Novo previously said it was also considering expanding its presence in Ireland after the Danish pharma bought land outside of Dublin. But Novo has since pivoted and instead earmarked $4.1 billion for a new manufacturing build in Clayton, NC.
Other pharma companies have also looked at Ireland to boost their manufacturing capacities. Astellas announced in September 2023 that it had earmarked €330 million ($364 million) to build a new site in Tralee. In 2022, Pfizer said it will pour nearly $1 billion into its Dublin site. Astrazeneca also budgeted $360 million to build its first Irish site in 2021.