Gov. Mike Braun, alongside Eli Lilly and Company leaders and employees, on Wednesday celebrated the opening of Lilly Lebanon Advanced Therapies – its first dedicated genetic medicine manufacturing facility – at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The company also announced a $4.5 billion additional investment in the Lebanon campus, bringing planned capital at that site to more than $18 billion.
The expansion will incorporate new process designs and technologies at Lilly Lebanon API, one of the company’s future active pharmaceutical ingredient sites, as well as Lilly Lebanon Advanced Therapies.
“This expansion reflects the strength of a long-standing partnership between Lilly and the state of Indiana – one that continues to deliver real results for Hoosiers,” Braun said. “With this investment in Lebanon and across the state, Indiana is reinforcing its position as a prime destination for life sciences and advanced manufacturing — spanning innovation, production and global distribution. Together, we are helping lead the future of medicine while creating high-quality jobs and new opportunities for our communities.”
The event was attended by hundreds of dignitaries and employees and included a brief tour of the newest facility. The site will create over 1,000 jobs by next year. Appetizers and insulated tumblers were provided, too.
The Lebanon site, located within the state’s LEAP Innovation District, plays a central role in Indiana’s strategy to grow next-generation industries and attract transformational investment.
“Lilly’s legacy of firsts in Indiana continues today — and the best measure of that legacy is what we do next,” said Lilly Chair and CEO David A. Ricks. “From genetic medicines that could one day prevent disease at its source, to Foundayo, a pill making weight loss treatment accessible to millions, we are not just discovering the medicines of the future — we are building the world’s most advanced plants to make them.”
“When our Lebanon API site opens in 2027,” he added, “it will be the largest API production site in U.S. history, a commitment we chose to build here, at home.
Lebanon is the cornerstone of Lilly’s domestic manufacturing buildout. In 2024, Lilly announced plans to make both Zepbound and Mounjaro, the most prescribed injectable medications for weight management and type 2 diabetes respectively, at its Lebanon API site, according to a news release.
The new investment expands that commitment further, including planned production of Foundayo, Lilly’s first FDA-approved, once-daily pill for weight loss that can be taken without food or water restrictions, and retatrutide, a medicine in late-stage development for obesity and cardiometabolic disease.
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