Dive Brief:
- Resilience and Eli Lilly are investing $750 million to increase domestic medicine production in the Cincinnati region, including additional capacity for GLP-1 weight-loss injectables, the companies said Thursday.
- Their joint investment allows contract manufacturer Resilience to produce Lilly’s KwikPen injectable device for medicines that treat diabetes and obesity, according to a news release. The expansion will create at least 400 jobs, bringing Resilience’s total headcount to more than 1,400 across its two facilities.
- Since their partnership began in 2023, the companies said they have produced more than 150 million doses of medicines for U.S. patients in vial and pre-filled syringe formats. Site preparation for the expansion is underway with full operations expected to begin in early 2027.
Dive Insight:
The investment comes amid growing demand for GLP-1 medications that treat diabetes, obesity and other conditions.
The global market for GLP-1 drugs could more than double in size to $190 billion by 2035, according to Morgan Stanley, citing rapid expansion in major international markets as oral treatments become more available and insurance coverage broadens.
Meanwhile, Lilly and other biopharmaceutical giants are pouring billions of dollars into their operational footprints to ensure they have enough capacity to meet demand. Resilience has become a key partner in helping Lilly address its supply needs in recent years.
“We are proud of what we have built together with Lilly and this new expansion as we scale production of complex medicines in Ohio,” William Marth, Resilience president and CEO, said in a statement. “Our investment reflects our long-term commitment to building one of the largest and most advanced sterile injectable and device assembly and packaging operations in the United States.”
Resilience has two facilities in the Cincinnati area comprising nearly 1 million square feet. The sites employ nearly 1,000 manufacturing workers. Last month, the company announced the relocation of its headquarters from San Diego to Blue Ash, Ohio, to be closer to its operational footprint. It plans to create 200 jobs as part of the move.
Since September, Lilly has committed more than $16 billion to the construction of three facilities that will make injectable or oral weight-loss treatments in Houston; Huntsville, Alabama; and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It also plans to invest an additional $4.5 billion across two of its Lebanon, Indiana sites.
