Eli Lilly and Company announced plans to invest over $1.2 billion to expand and modernize its Lilly del Caribe manufacturing site in Carolina, Puerto Rico, strengthening its U.S. manufacturing network and supporting the company’s growing portfolio of oral solid medicines in cardiometabolic health, neuroscience, oncology, and immunology.
The upgraded facility will play a key role in manufacturing orforglipron, Lilly’s first oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, which the company expects to submit for global regulatory approval in obesity by the end of this year. The expansion is part of Lilly’s previously announced $50 billion capital investment to increase U.S. production capacity, which also includes new facilities in Texas and Virginia, with two more sites yet to be announced.
“After sixty years, Lilly del Caribe continues to play an important role in making life-changing medicines for people in the U.S. and beyond,” said Edgardo Hernandez, Executive Vice President and President of Lilly Manufacturing Operations. “This investment strengthens our site’s role in our global network and supports our mission to deliver innovative therapies worldwide.”
The new facility will feature cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, including dock-to-dock automation, paperless production, process analytical technology, and spray-dried dispersion systems to improve drug absorption and efficiency. Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with medicine production set to start by late 2028.
The project is anticipated to create up to 1,000 construction jobs and 100 new high-tech manufacturing positions, while also boosting local bioscience development through scholarship programs in engineering, science, and business.
Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González-Colón welcomed the investment, calling it “a resounding vote of confidence in our people and infrastructure,” and emphasized the island’s growing role as a strategic hub for advanced manufacturing and innovation.
Sebastian Negrón Reichard, Secretary of Puerto Rico’s Department of Economic Development and Commerce, added, “Lilly’s continued trust in Puerto Rico translates into new capacity, advanced technology, and long-term economic value for our island.”
The $1.2 billion expansion reinforces Lilly’s six-decade presence in Puerto Rico and underscores the company’s commitment to advancing U.S.-based pharmaceutical innovation and supply chain resilience.