Eli Lilly invests $5 billion in Virginia cancer drug plant
Eli Lilly announced Tuesday that it will invest $5 billion to build a new manufacturing facility in Goochland County, Virginia, aimed at boosting U.S. production of cutting-edge cancer drugs and other treatments. The project marks the first in a series of four new domestic sites the pharmaceutical giant plans to open as part of a broader $27 billion expansion unveiled earlier this year.
The Virginia site will focus on developing active ingredients for cancer and autoimmune drugs, with a particular emphasis on antibody-drug conjugates — a class of targeted bioconjugates that combine monoclonal antibodies with toxic payloads to directly attack cancer cells. The facility will also serve as Eli Lilly’s first dedicated plant for its bioconjugate platform, producing both active ingredients and finished drug products.
“This is new capacity to allow for pipeline growth,” said Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks in an interview with CNBC. “We don’t currently have that capability in-house. This site will allow us to manufacture these innovative medicines ourselves — and even put them directly into vials and ship them.”
Strategic U.S. Expansion
Eli Lilly’s announcement comes amid heightened industry efforts to increase pharmaceutical manufacturing within the United States. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on imported drugs, saying such measures would encourage companies to bring production back to U.S. soil. While Ricks said tax policy — particularly the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — was the primary driver behind the company’s decision, he acknowledged the urgency of boosting U.S. capacity as demand for new therapies accelerates.
The new Virginia plant is expected to create more than 650 permanent jobs, including positions for engineers, scientists, and operations staff, as well as 1,800 construction jobs during the buildout. Eli Lilly selected Goochland County for its strong logistics, skilled workforce, and an existing industrial site with ready-to-use infrastructure.
“We’re in a bit of a hurry,” Ricks said. “The site was already under development for another industrial purpose, so utilities and other infrastructure are ready to go.”
Advanced Manufacturing
The company said the facility will incorporate advanced technologies, including machine learning and artificial intelligence, to ensure precision manufacturing and reliable supply of medicines.
Production at the site is expected to begin within five years, alongside three additional U.S. plants that Eli Lilly plans to announce later this year. The company already operates domestic facilities in Indiana, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
Looking Beyond Diabetes and Obesity
The expansion underscores Eli Lilly’s ambitions beyond its blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs, Zepbound and Mounjaro. Both treatments have fueled record revenues and intense competition with rival Novo Nordisk, prompting both firms to invest heavily in expanding supply.
But Eli Lilly’s new U.S. plants are also positioned to support the company’s wider drug pipeline, which includes therapies for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and autoimmune conditions.
“This is about building for the future,” Ricks said. “We have a number of promising assets coming, and we want to be sure we can deliver them to patients reliably.”
