Eli Lilly will invest tens of billions more dollars in U.S. drug manufacturing in a significant enlargement of plans the Indianapolis company had already described as historic.
Lilly, which makes the popular obesity medicine Zepbound, previously pledged to spend $23 billion on constructing and refurbishing factories in the U.S. to churn out the company’s new pills and injections. On Tuesday, the company more than doubled that target. Including commitments made since 2020, it expects to pour over $50 billion into U.S. capital expenditures.
According to Lilly, the planned spending is the largest pharmaceutical investment in domestic manufacturing of the past decade.
The $27 billion in new investment will go toward building four drug production facilities, three of which will be dedicated to making the active pharmaceutical ingredients the industry regularly imports from abroad. Specifically, Lilly said its investment will help to reshore “critical capabilities of small molecule chemical synthesis.” The fourth site will support the company’s global manufacturing network for injectable therapies.
Overall, Lilly expects the four facilities will eventually employ more than 3,000 technicians, scientists and other personnel, as well as create nearly 10,000 construction jobs.
Lilly announced its plans at a press conference in Washington, D.C., six days after company head David Ricks, along with his CEO peers at Pfizer and Merck & Co., met with President Donald Trump at the White House. According to Bloomberg, Trump warned the executives their industry could face tariffs if they don’t move manufacturing back to the U.S. Earlier last week, Trump had said he would impose tariffs “in the neighborhood of 25%” on pharmaceuticals, among other goods.
In a statement, Ricks said the company’s decision to further invest in domestic manufacturing capacity reflected its conviction in its drug pipeline. But his statement included an economic message, too: “Our confidence positions us to help reinvigorate domestic manufacturing, which will benefit hard-working American families and increase exports of medicines made in the U.S.A.”
Ricks also called for an extension of tax cuts passed in 2017 during Trump’s first term, calling them “foundational” to Lilly’s domestic investment. In addition to lowering corporate levies, that law also reduced the rate at which profits earned overseas would be taxed upon repatriation to the U.S., aiding drugmakers in particular.
Lilly, and the pharmaceutical industry more broadly, hope to secure similar benefits from this administration, as well as to revise a Biden-era law that for the first time allowed Medicare to directly negotiate drug prices. Earning Trump’s support may be harder, however. Per Bloomberg, Trump didn’t commit to making changes in his meeting with Ricks last week, and expressed dissatisfaction at the higher costs of drugs in the U.S. versus overseas.
The commercial success of Zepbound has played a major role motivating Lilly’s manufacturing spending. The company initially struggled to keep up with demand, only recently resolving shortages that had opened the door for compounding pharmacies to make off-brand copies. Previously announced investments in Indiana and in Wisconsin were aimed at expanding production of Zepbound and drugs like it.
Lilly hasn’t yet finalized the locations for the four new factories. The company is currently in negotiations with several states and expects to announce the future site locations this year. It anticipates the new facilities will begin making drugs for patients within five years.
Prior to 2022, Lilly averaged about $1.4 billion in annual capital expenditures. Spending increased to $3.45 billion in 2023 and $5.06 billion last year. Analysts expect Lilly sales, which reached $45 billion in 2025, to grow substantially on the back of Zepbound and successor obesity drugs the company is developing.
