(Reuters) -Eli Lilly said on Wednesday it will invest more than $1.2 billion to expand its manufacturing site in Puerto Rico, as the drugmaker looks to increase its U.S. production capacity to hedge against potential tariffs.
The revamped facility in Carolina, Puerto Rico will help manufacture Lilly’s weight-loss pill, orforglipron, for which the company expects to submit a marketing application to global regulators by end of this year.
Global pharmaceutical companies have been increasing U.S. investments to bolster production capacity after President Donald Trump urged the industry to make more medicines domestically rather than importing active ingredients or finished medicines.
The investment is part of Lilly’s previously announced $50 billion plan to expand its U.S. manufacturing capacity, it said.
The Carolina site, which has operated for 60 years, will also support the expansion of the company’s growing portfolio of treatments for heart disease, diabetes, cancer and immune disorder.
Lilly said the expansion will create 100 additional jobs for skilled workers including high-tech manufacturing positions and up to 1,000 construction jobs.
The facility’s construction is estimated to begin in 2026, and the company plans to start producing oral drugs by the end of 2028.
Earlier this year, Lilly outlined plans to spend at least $27 billion on four new U.S. manufacturing sites to counter potential drug import duties, with two of the facilities slated to be in Texas and Virginia.
Lilly said it will announce the locations of the remaining sites later this year.
(Reporting by Sahil Pandey and Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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