Rendering of New Eli Lilly facility in Kenosha County
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. recently announced a $3 billion expansion of the Wisconsin manufacturing facility the company acquired from Nexus Pharmaceuticals last year. Operational since 2021, the Kenosha County facility was the first new manufacturing facility for sterile, injectable drugs built in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
The acquisition, expansion, and additional purchases of land and an adjacent warehouse bring Lilly’s total planned investment in Wisconsin to $4 billion. The company said these investments will expand its global parenteral (injectable) product manufacturing network, helping to meet growing demand for its diabetes, obesity, and future pipeline medicines across therapeutic areas. WEDC worked closely with the company to meet its site selection and workforce needs.
“We look forward to bringing high-wage advanced manufacturing, engineering, and science jobs to people in Wisconsin, a state that is becoming a critical geography in our global manufacturing operations,” said Edgardo Hernandez, the company’s executive vice president and president of manufacturing operations.
The expanded facility will focus on manufacturing injectable medicines, device assembly, and packaging for medicines across multiple therapeutic areas. Lilly will use advanced automation, including guided vehicles, robotics, and production equipment, to accelerate medicine production. From data management to operations, digital automation will be embedded throughout the site to accelerate processes and increase accuracy.
The announcement further cements the leadership of the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub (designated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration last year, opening up access to federal grant funding to develop the hub further). The announcement also comes on the heels of several other announcements by companies also planning major expansions in Southeast Wisconsin, including Nestlé Purina, Kikkoman, and Microsoft.
