Eli Lilly continues building spree with $3.5 billion Pennsylvania plant announcement

Eli Lilly and Company announced June 30 that it would spend $3.5 billion on a new manufacturing site in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley region. According to a company statement, the 925,000-square-foot campus will include multiple buildings and create 850 jobs in the area to increase production of GLP-1 obesity and weight loss medications.

The Upper Macungie Township development is the fourth Lilly has announced in recent months as the company plans a substantial buildup of its orforglipron GLP-1 drug and other pharmaceutical products. After announcing in March 2025 that it would spend $27 billion on four U.S. projects, Lilly announced a $5 billion development in Virginia, a $6.5 billion facility in Texas, a $1.2 billion site in Puerto Rico, and a $6 billion location in Alabama.

The state of Pennsylvania, according to Gov. Shapiro, will spend $100 million on attracting the plant, half through tax credits and half through state grants. Pennsylvania will also increase funding by an unspecified amount to Lehigh Carbon Community College’s biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and life sciences programs to help develop the area’s life-sciences workforce.

What people are saying

“To meet increasing demand, we’re expanding our U.S. manufacturing network, with Lehigh Valley adding capacity for next-generation weight-loss medicines,” said Lilly CEO David Ricks. “We’re creating high-quality jobs and collaborating across the region—with suppliers, educators, and workforce-development partners—to make critical medicines in the U.S.,” Ricks told more than 200 local and state dignitaries. “That’s our commitment—to patients, to our new Pennsylvania home, and to our country.” 

“Lilly’s commitment to the Lehigh Valley and to Pennsylvania will bring billions of dollars of investment and hundreds of good-paying jobs, solidifying our position as a leader in the growing life sciences industry,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. 

“This announcement further proves that our Economic Development Strategy is working to attract historic, new investments to Pennsylvania,” said Rick Siger, Pennsylvania Secretary of Community and Economic Development. “We will keep competing for major projects like this one that will continue to strengthen our life sciences industry, create good-paying jobs, and fuel economic growth across the Commonwealth.”

“Today, Eli Lilly and Company write the first page of a new chapter – the era of life sciences – in the Lehigh Valley’s proud history of making things in America,” said Don Cunningham, President & CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation.

Manufacturers investing in Pennsylvania

Johnson & Johnson will build new plants in Pennsylvania and North Carolina
New Jersey backed pharmaceutical giant cut a deal with the Trump administration to lower costs in exchange for a tariff exception.

DrinkPAK to spend $195 million on Pennsylvania canned drinks factory
The company is the first tenant in Philadelphia’s Bellwether District.

Farm Plast to spend $8 million on new milk crate factory in Pennsylvania
The plant will create an estimated 69 new jobs.