Pharma giant Eli Lilly has announced a further $1 billion (€910 million) investment at the new Alzheimer’s medicines plant it is building in Limerick.
The expansion of a plant that is still under construction will add a further 150 jobs to the 300 announced when the initial $1 billion investment in Limerick was announced in 2022.
The doubling of Lilly’s investment in the new plant points to its confidence in its portfolio of Alzheimer’s drugs. Manufacturing the active ingredient for those medicines will be the focus of the Limerick plant when it opens. That is expected to be in 2026. It will also supply active drug ingredients for other Lilly biologic medicines.
“Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating diagnosis for both the patient and for their loved ones, along with having a huge burden on society,” said Anne White, president of Lilly Neuroscience.
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“The treatments we plan to make here in Limerick offer the potential to be able to slow the progression of early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease and make life better for millions of people around the world.”
Lilly is rapidly expanding capacity as it looks to leverage a growing portfolio of drugs in the fields of Alzheimer’s and weight loss, investing $20 billion over the past four years to expand and acquire manufacturing plants.
The company on Thursday also formally opened an $800 million expansion of its Kinsale site in Co Cork, which last year started manufacturing Lilly’s diabetes and obesity treatments which are experiencing a surge in demand across the industry.
“These investments will boost the production of some of our medicines, helping millions of people with diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease live the healthiest lives possible,” said Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice-president and president of Lilly’s manufacturing operations. He said the state-of-the-art facilities would also work to support the company’s pipeline of potential therapies.
Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Peter Burke said: “These state-of-the-art facilities will contribute to the treatment of diseases affecting millions of people across the world. They will also create hundreds of new jobs, directly and indirectly, adding to the thousands already employed in Ireland by Lilly.”
He said the announcements signalled the US drug giant’s confidence in Ireland as a global leader in the biopharma sector.
The investments have been supported by IDA Ireland. Lilly, which first came to Ireland with the purchase of its site in Kinsale in 1978, currently employs more than 3,500 people across its three Irish sites.
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