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Eli Lilly to Invest $4.5B for New Manufacturing & Research Plant

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Eli Lilly and Company (LLY - Free Report) announced a significant $4.5 billion investment for the establishment of the Lilly Medicine Foundry in Indiana to advance drug production and innovation. This facility will enable the development of new methods for making its drugs and also scale up the supply of medicines for clinical trials for Lilly’s growing pipeline. This one-of-a-kind facility, which combines research and manufacturing in a single location, will open in 2027.

The Medicine Foundry, which is expected to create 400 jobs, will be situated in the LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon, Indiana. Lilly has already made significant investments in Lebanon, which include commitments totaling over $8 billion since 2022 for improving manufacturing capabilities. The latest $4.5 billion investment will increase Lilly’s investment in Lebanon to more than $13 billion. The Indiana state government will support the project with infrastructure improvements and economic incentives.

Year to date, Lilly’s stock has risen 52.9% compared with the large cap pharmaceutical industry's  20.1% growth.

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Lilly Boosting Manufacturing Capacity

Since 2020, Lilly has committed more than $18 billion for manufacturing capacity, mainly to increase production of its popular tirzepatide medicines, diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight loss medicine, Zepbound, in the United States and Europe. The new “foundry” will increase Lilly's total capital commitment in the United States to more than $23 billion since 2020. Lilly said in September that it would invest $1 billion to expand manufacturing at its Limerick site in Ireland. The company also unveiled a new $800 million facility expansion in Kinsale, Ireland.

Lilly faced supply constraints for incretin-based products like Trulicity, Mounjaro and Zepbound in the first half of 2024. Demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound is exceptionally strong and exceeds supply. The weekly prescription volume of Mounjaro and Zepbound was volatile in the first half of the year due to challenges fulfilling high demand. However, Lilly is investing in new advanced manufacturing plants and lines in the United States and Europe, which has increased supply. With the increase in production volumes, channel dynamics and stocking levels in the United States in the second quarter, sales rose significantly, crushing all estimates and taking LLY’s stock to new highs.

Lilly’s tirzepatide medicines face strong competition from Novo Nordisk’s (NVO - Free Report) semaglutide. Semaglutide is approved as Ozempic pre-filled pen and Rybelsus oral tablet for type II diabetes and as Wegovy injection for weight management. Wegovy sales have also remained strong. Though Novo Nordisk is also making efforts to improve the supply of its semaglutide drugs, it has not been as successful as Lilly yet.

Lilly’s Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider

Lilly sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Some other top-ranked large drugmakers are Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) and AstraZeneca (AZN - Free Report) , having a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each.  

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sanofi’s earnings has risen from $4.19 to $4.26 per share for 2024 over the past 60 days, while that for 2025 has risen from $4.76 per share to $4.83 per share. Sanofi’s shares have risen 13.1% year to date.

Sanofi beat estimates in two of the last four quarters while missing in one and meeting in one, delivering a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 0.46%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AstraZeneca’s earnings has risen from $4.04 to $4.06 per share for 2024 over the past 60 days, while that for 2025 has declined from $4.71 per share to $4.70 per share. AstraZeneca’s shares have risen 18.1% year to date.

AstraZeneca beat estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing in one, delivering a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 4.74%.


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