Eli Lilly: Investing US$4.5bn for GLP-1 Medicine Production

Eli Lilly and Company has committed an additional US$4.5bn to expand two of its three Lebanon sites in Indiana, US.

The pharmaceutical manufacturer now has total capital expansion commitments exceeding US$21bn since 2020.

The funding will support advanced pharmaceutical ingredients and genetic medicine manufacturing.

Both investments respond to demand created by two medications that increased Eli Lilly's Q1 2026 revenue by 56% compared with the previous year.

David A. Ricks, Eli Lilly's Chair and CEO, says: "When our Lebanon API site opens in 2027, it will be the largest API production site in US history, a commitment we chose to build here, at home."

Genetic medicine production capacity

The capital will fund new process designs and technologies at Eli Lilly Lebanon API. This facility will become one of the company's active pharmaceutical ingredient production sites.

Funding will also support Eli Lilly Lebanon Advanced Therapies.

This represents the company's first dedicated genetic medicine manufacturing facility.

Eli Lilly Lebanon Advanced Therapies is designed to support clinical and commercial production of therapies that target disease at the genetic level.

The facility will accommodate genetic medicine modalities from research-stage development through to large-scale commercial supply.

According to Eli Lilly, designing and building for these modalities required developing new manufacturing processes "without established commercial precedent".

Three facility campus development

Eli Lilly Lebanon Advanced Therapies is the first of three planned sites on the Lebanon campus in Indiana.

The campus will also include Eli Lilly Lebanon API and the Lilly Medicine Foundry.

"Lilly's legacy of firsts in Indiana continues today and the best measure of that legacy is what we do next," says David.

"From genetic medicines that could one day prevent disease at its source, to Foundayo, a pill making weight-loss treatment accessible to millions, we are not just discovering the medicines of the future, we are building the world's most advanced plants to make them."

In April 2026, Eli Lilly released a weight-loss tablet called Foundayo after receiving FDA approval.

Mounjaro and Zepbound revenue growth

Lebanon, Indiana, is the site where Eli Lilly manufactures two key products. Mounjaro and Zepbound have both contributed to the company's growth.

According to Eli Lilly, worldwide revenue in the first quarter of 2026 reached US$19.8bn.

This represented a 56% increase compared with Q1 2025, driven by a 65% increase in volume.

Revenue from key products grew to US$13.4bn in the same period. Mounjaro and Zepbound led this growth.

In 2024, Eli Lilly announced plans to manufacture both Zepbound and Mounjaro at its Lebanon API site.

Zepbound is the most prescribed injectable medication for weight management and Mounjaro is the most prescribed injectable medication for type-two diabetes.

Tirzepatide-based medications

The active ingredient in both Zepbound and Mounjaro is tirzepatide.

Both medications are glucagon-like peptide-one receptor agonists.

These medications are effective in treating type 2 diabetes and for weight loss.

They represent a class of therapeutics that could address two conditions affecting millions of patients.

According to Eli Lilly, worldwide Mounjaro revenue in Q1 2026 increased 125% to US$8.7bn.

Zepbound revenue in the US alone increased 79% to US$4.1bn in the first quarter of 2026, compared with US$2.3bn the year before.

This increase in revenue could explain the expansion in manufacturing capacity.

The company appears to be scaling production infrastructure to match demand for both therapeutics.