Eli Lilly to invest $850M in its U.S. operations

INDIANAPOLIS — Eli Lilly and Co. will invest $850 in its U.S. operations in 2017. The company's investments span facilities across its U.S. enterprise, including research laboratories, manufacturing sites, and general and administrative areas. The investments are being driven by demand for Lilly products, as well as its pipeline of potential medicines in development targeting cancer, pain, diabetes and other unmet medical needs. 

Company leaders were joined by federal, state and local government officials at Lilly Technology Center on Friday, where the details of the investments were unveiled, including plans for a new $85 million expansion of its Trulicity (dulaglutide) device assembly operations in the U.S. This expansion is part of a five-year investment by the company to expand its diabetes products manufacturing operations in the United States, which also includes a $140 million insulin cartridge production facility.

David A. Ricks, Lilly's president and CEO, said that Lilly's potential for growth and its long-standing commitment to the U.S. market led to its decision to invest in its U.S. operations and expand its manufacturing footprint in Indianapolis.

"Our future at Lilly is bright, as we're on a path to launch 20 new products in a 10-year time frame," Ricks said. "As we have for our entire 140-year history, we continue to see Indiana and the United States as attractive places to research and make the medicines that we sell around the world."

Ricks added Lilly's $850 million investment will fund both projects that are already underway as well as new projects that will be initiated throughout the course of the year, including additional projects in Indianapolis.