Eli Lilly is preparing a major expansion of its U.S. manufacturing footprint with a new complex in Pennsylvania that will focus on injectable obesity and diabetes medicines. The company plans to spend $3.5 billion on a large-scale facility in the Lehigh Valley, positioning the region as a central hub in its global supply chain for next-generation weight loss treatments.
The project marks Eli Lilly’s first manufacturing site in the state and is being framed by state leaders as the largest life sciences investment in Pennsylvania history. It also caps a broader U.S. factory buildout that is reshaping how the drugmaker produces and distributes some of its most in-demand therapies.
Why Lilly chose Fogelsville and the Lehigh Valley
The new complex will rise in Fogelsville in Lehigh County, a location that offers direct access to major interstate corridors and proximity to both New York and Philadelphia. Local officials have highlighted that the campus will sit in Upper Macungie Township along a stretch of I 78 that has already attracted logistics and industrial investment, giving Eli Lilly immediate connectivity to national distribution routes. Reporting on the siting decision notes that Cunningham described how Lilly will build a campus with seven buildings on land owned by Jaindl Land Development, right off the highway.
State leaders have treated the announcement as a signature economic development win. In Fogelsville, Governor Shapiro and officials described the project as the culmination of efforts to position the state as a national life sciences leader. Regional coverage has emphasized that the Lehigh Valley, long associated with heavy industry, is now being recast as a center for advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing, with the new facility expected to anchor a broader life sciences production hub that stretches toward Allentown and Philadelphia, as highlighted in related coverage.
Inside the $3.5 billion facility and its role in Lilly’s pipeline
Eli Lilly has committed $3.5 billion to the Pennsylvania site, which will be dedicated to injectable medicines and medical devices for obesity and diabetes care. Company statements describe the Lehigh Valley facility as a next-generation injectable medicine and device manufacturing facility that will produce advanced weight loss drugs, including therapies that build on the success of its current obesity portfolio. Technical briefings note that Eli Lilly and Company, often referred to as Eli Lilly, plans to use the site to support complex injectable medicines and devices, including candidates such as the triple hormone receptor agonist retatrutide…