Lilly to invest $1.5 billion in two new manufacturing sites

The $1.5 billion investment will fund a parenteral manufacturing facility in North Carolina and a biopharmaceutical manufacturing site in Ireland

This news comes only 2 years after the company announced a $470 million investment in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park.

Using the latest technology, the Concord facility will manufacture parenteral products and devices, as well as provide additional capacity.

In a statement, the company said it also plans to create approximately 600 new jobs for workers such as scientists, engineers and manufacturing personnel in additionl to an estimated 500 positions which will be required while the Concord facility is under construction.

Concord proved an attractive location offering Lilly a local labour force with manufacturing technology experience; close proximity to universities with strong science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programmes; and access to major transportation infrastructure.

Together with the company's site in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park, the new facility will, therefore, allow the company to strengthen relationships with local governments and universities and diversify its presence in the state.

The company also plans to invest $500 million in Limerick, Ireland to create a new biologics active ingredients site, as well as more than 300 jobs, which will expand Lilly's manufacturing network for biologic active ingredients.

This facility will support demand for existing products and play a key role in bringing the company's pipeline, including its promising neurodegeneration portfolio, to people around the world.