Eli Lilly Commits $6 Billion Investment for Major Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Hub in Alabama

The American pharmaceutical giant, Eli Lilly, has designated Huntsville, Alabama, as the location for its third manufacturing facility dedicated to Orforglipron. This facility is integrated into the company’s comprehensive pledge to invest $27 billion in expanding its pharmaceutical manufacturing footprint across the United States.

• Scope and Timeline: The Alabama project is valued at $6 billion and is scheduled to begin construction in 2026.

• Job Creation: The site is expected to generate 3,000 roles during the construction phase and over 450 skilled jobs, including scientists, engineers, and lab technicians, upon its opening.

• Production Focus: The new site will manufacture synthetic small molecule and peptide medicines, with a particular focus on Orforglipron—the newest potential addition to the company’s arsenal of Glucagon-like Peptide Receptor Agonists (GLP-1RA).

To optimize operations, Eli Lilly plans to integrate advanced technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and digital automation to streamline processes and secure the supply chain.

Wider Global Expansion Context

The Alabama facility falls under Eli Lilly’s strategy of US onshoring. As part of this $27 billion drive, Lilly is constructing four new sites in the US, including:

• A $6.5 billion Orforglipron manufacturing site in Texas.

• A $1.2 billion investment to expand its existing Orforglipron production facility in Puerto Rico.

• A $5 billion facility in Virginia for the production of Monoclonal Antibodies (mAbs) and Bioconjugates.

In addition, the company is strengthening its European manufacturing presence by developing a new $3 billionOrforglipron facility in the Netherlands and undertaking a $1 billion expansion of its site in Limerick, Ireland.

This aggressive US expansion comes amid threats from the Trump administration to impose 100% tariffs on branded pharmaceuticals unless companies are “breaking ground” on a US manufacturing facility.

Growth Outlook

The manufacturing scale-up occurs while Eli Lilly is experiencing immense growth, having recently joined the $1 trillion market cap club.

This business boom is primarily fueled by its successful obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) portfolio, featuring best-sellers like Zepbound and Mounjaro (tirzepatide).

With the company preparing to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) for Orforglipron to the FDA, the drug is projected to launch in 2026. Analysts predict that Orforglipron could become a mega-blockbuster, potentially generating $13 billion in annual sales by 2031. However, Eli Lilly is expected to face competition from rival Novo Nordisk in the oral GLP-1RA category, particularly with the pending FDA decision on oral Semaglutide (Wegovy) for weight loss.