LEBANON, Ind. (WOWO) — Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. is expanding their footprint in Indiana.
Lilly plans to break ground Tuesday afternoon on its $4.5 billion Lilly Medicine Foundry in Lebanon. Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks and Gov. Mike Braun will take part in the groundbreaking ceremony.
Ricks previously said he’s not aware of a major investment like this anywhere else in the world.
“The medicine foundry will combine research, manufacturing and the most advanced technology available in a single location, right here in Indiana,” Ricks said during an announcement of the project last Fall.
The Lilly Medicine Foundry will include 400 highly skilled workers, engineers, scientists and lab techs who will help make medicines for clinical trials at a faster rate. The LEAP Research and Innovation District will be based in the LEAP Research and Innovation District. LEAP stands for Limitless Exploration Advanced Pace.
“This site will enable those types of inventions that can allow us to make two or three times as much medicine from the same process with chemical innovation,” said Ricks.
It’s not the first investment the Indianapolis-based company has made in Lebanon. Back in May 2022, Lilly announced a $2.1 billion investment in two manufacturing sites in Lebanon, followed by another $1.6 billion for that same effort revealed in April 2023 and another $5.3 billion announced the following month.
This project will increase the company’s investment in the LEAP district to over $13 billion, the largest single investment of active pharmaceutical ingredients production in U.S. history.
The groundbreaking is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at 2255 State Road 32. Lilly’s chief scientific officer Dr. Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s second vice president of product research and development Sarah O’Keeffe, and other local and state government officials will also be in attendance.
