Eli Lilly breaks ground on $6.5B Houston API and advanced therapeutics site
- $6.5 billion Houston facility will manufacture APIs including Foundayo, other small molecules, and advanced therapeutics such as oligonucleotides.
- The site is expected to create more than 600 permanent high-wage jobs and about 4,000 construction jobs.
- Lilly is providing $12.5 million to San Jacinto College for training pathways and $2.5 million in scholarships to the college foundation.
- The project is one of ten U.S. sites announced since 2020 and the company’s fifth API location; Foundayo is under review in 40+ countries with a full global rollout targeted for 2027.
Project overview
Eli Lilly has broken ground on a $6.5 billion manufacturing site in Houston to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and advanced therapeutics. The investment is part of a broader $50 billion effort to reshore medicine production and is the company’s fifth U.S. API location announced since 2020.
Products and capacity
The Houston plant will manufacture Foundayo (orforglipron), Lilly’s first synthetic oral GLP‑1 small molecule, alongside other small‑molecule medicines and advanced modalities such as oligonucleotides. Foundayo is under regulatory review in more than 40 countries, with a full global rollout targeted for 2027.
Workforce and training
The site is expected to create more than 600 high‑wage jobs and approximately 4,000 construction jobs. Lilly is investing $12.5 million to partner with San Jacinto College on training pathways for technicians, operators and maintenance staff, and is donating $2.5 million to the college foundation for scholarships.
Operations and network
The Houston facility will use machine learning, AI, digitally integrated systems and advanced data analytics to drive right‑first‑time execution and digital automation across operations. It joins a ten‑site U.S. expansion that includes API sites in Richmond, VA; Huntsville, AL; Houston, TX; and two locations in Lebanon, IN, plus facilities for injectables, devices and genetic medicines.
Source: Lilly