Lilly Commits Another $5.3bn To Tirzepatide Supply Expansion Effort

Lilly is now spending about $9bn total to bring an Indiana manufacturing site for tirzepatide to readiness, although it is not expected to supply finished product until 2026.

Manufacturing
Lilly is increasing manufacturing spending driven by tirzepatide demand • Source: Shutterstock

Eli Lilly and Company is committing an additional $5.3bn to its ongoing efforts to ramp up manufacturing of tirzepatide, the blockbuster dual GLP-1/GIP agonist approved as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for obesity, at an in-development site in Indiana slated to produce its first doses in 2026 and continue scaling up production capacity into 2028. The multibillion-dollar expansion comes as the company and its competitor Novo Nordisk A/S continue to struggle to keep up with demand for weight loss-inducing medicines that far outstrips existing capacity to manufacture the products.

As Lilly and Novo Nordisk have opened up the burgeoning obesity market with incretin therapies, the two companies each have experienced significant supply constraints in recent years and undertaken big-dollar efforts to expand their production capacity. (Also see "Stock Watch: Novo Edges Ahead Of Lilly In GLP-1 Agonist Battle" - Scrip, 20 February, 2024

Key Takeaways
  • Like competitor Novo Nordisk, Lilly is struggling to meet demand for its incretin therapies for type 2 diabetes and obesity, the GLP-1/GIP agonist tirzepatide, approved as Mounjaro and Wegovy.

  • Lilly is committing an additional $5.3bn to development of a manufacturing site in Indiana that is expected to begin yielding tirzepatide supply in 2026 but continue scaling up into 2028

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