Eli Lilly Invests $5.3B in Indiana Plant for Mounjaro, Zepbound

Eli Lilly has announced that it will be investing $5.3 billion in a manufacturing plant in Indiana to help bridge the gap between the supply and the demand of the popular weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.

CNBC has confirmed that the plant will open in the town of Lebanon, with the hopes that it will begin to produce medicine sometime in 2026.

The investment of $5.3 billion brings Eli Lilly’s total investment in the weight loss drugs market to $9 billion, making it the largest manufacturing investment in the company’s history, according to the outlet.

“This multi-site campus will make our latest medicines, including Zepbound and Mounjaro, support pipeline growth and leverage the latest technology and automation for maximum efficiency, safety and quality control,” said the company’s CEO, David Ricks, in a statement released with the announcement.

Eli Lilly further confirmed that more than 900 jobs will be created thanks to the investment, including engineers, scientists, operating personnel, and lab technicians.

News of the investment comes amid reports that the price of the popular drugs had been hiked significantly at the top of the year due to increasing demand against decreasing supply.

In early January 2024, pharmaceutical companies raised the price of 775 name-brand medications. While some brands saw increases of up to 10%, the typical rise was 4.5%. Both numbers exceed the rate of inflation as it stands right now.

Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro saw a 4.5% price increase to over $1,000 for a month’s supply, while Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic saw a 3.5% price increase to $984.29 for a month’s supply. These medications are intended to assist diabetics in controlling their blood sugar levels, but they have also been shown to be useful for weight loss. Consequently, there are shortages because of the increased demand for these medications.

Patients who are concerned about their weight loss may find the price rise especially troubling, especially if their healthcare plans do not cover Ozempic, Mounjaro, or other similar medications.

“Technically, most brand prescription drug list price increases occur in either January or July each year, but the greatest number take place in January (and thus, January gets all the attention),” said 46brooklyn Research, a nonprofit that seeks to enhance the accessibility and usability of drug pricing data in the United States. “By our counts, since 2018, more than 60% of all brand drug list price increases that occur throughout the course of each year are implemented in the month of January.”