The opening of Lilly's first significant production complex in Germany is aligned with the strategy to produce essential healthcare products closer to the markets they serve
An image of Eli Lilly’s corporate centre in Indianapolis, Indiana, US. (Credit: Momoneymoproblemz from Wikimedia Commons)
American pharmaceuticals major Eli Lilly and Company is reportedly planning to invest €2bn to construct a new production plant in Alzey, located in western Germany.
The opening of Lilly’s first significant production complex in Germany is aligned with the strategy to produce essential healthcare products closer to the markets they serve, reported Reuters.
The countries around the globe are now focusing on this plan as the coronavirus pandemic exposed the vulnerability of international supply chains.
The investment is expected to create 1,000 jobs and will boost the sub-contractors and suppliers in the region, said the publication.
The project will be funded by Eli Lilly, which has witnessed the growing demand for its diabetes medication Mounjaro.
The new facility will produce diabetes drugs with the potential use for the treatment of obesity. No further details about the site’s operation were revealed, Reuters reported citing one of its sources.
Last week, the Mounjaro injection, which has been used off-label for weight loss, received approval for additional use in the US under the new Zepbound brand. Trulicity is one of Lilly’s various diabetic medications.
Alzey, located in the Rheinhessen district of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is said to be within less than an hour’s drive of the headquarters of drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim and Covid vaccine maker BioNTech and of chemicals major BASF.
The investment is being made at a time when big pharmaceutical firms are vehemently opposing measures by the European Union to reduce the customary eight-year window of protection that companies receive before generics can be sold.
The German project would bring the company’s total allocated capital for ongoing growth projects in Indiana, North Carolina, and Limerick, Ireland over the next few years to over $8bn, reported Reuters.
Mounjaro is also anticipating getting approval for wider use against weight loss in the European Union.
The pharmaceutical giant is also expecting to double the production capacity for diabetes drug Mounjaro by the end of 2023.