Lilly to Build Injectables Plant in North Carolina
US drugmaker Eli Lilly is planning to invest $474 million in a new plant in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park (RTP) that will produce injectable medicines such as insulin, as well as delivery systems such as pens, from 2023.
Altogether, the Indianapolis, Indiana-based company said the facility will create 462 “above-average paying jobs” over the next 5 years.
Chairman and CEO Dave Ricks said Lilly is rapidly developing new drugs for diabetes, cancer and autoimmune disorders, which means it needs to expand manufacturing capacity to keep up with demand and “prepare for new medicines being discovered, yet to be discovered and developed in its laboratories.”
The state government has approved a job development investment grant (JDIG) of up to $8.7 million for the project, under which the drugmaker will receive rebates on some of its state withholding taxes if it meets annual hiring and investment targets over the next 12 years.
According to reports, the incentives represent a value of up to $11.59 million
North Carolina’s Durham County has also agreed to provide incentives to the company, and Durham Technical Community College will offer a customized training program for the plant’s workers.
Lilly had a presence in RTP, the research park that straddles the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan areas, in the 1990s but discontinued lab operations there about 15 years ago.
Pharma trade journals pointed out that the company has been preparing for the new production through a number of deals for biotechs working on injected cancer drug candidates. Last year, it struck an $8 billion deal for Loxo Oncology and early this year paid $1.1 billion for Dermira, which has the atopic dermatitis drug lebrikizumab in its pipeline.
