Eli Lilly to invest $1B in India to expand contract manufacturing capacity

“Today in India, Lilly announced plans to invest more than $1 billion over the next several years into new contract manufacturing in India,” an Eli Lilly spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Pharma Manufacturing.

The initiative will focus on scaling production of key medicines for obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and autoimmune disorders, according to reports from Reuters and Business Standard. The company said the move leverages India’s skilled workforce and contract manufacturing ecosystem as part of its broader strategy to increase global supply resilience.

Eli Lilly currently does not operate its own manufacturing facility in India but is “actively engaging with contract manufacturers” in the country, according to a company statement cited by Reuters. The investment will include the establishment of a new manufacturing and quality facility in Hyderabad to oversee Lilly’s Indian contract manufacturing network. Recruitment for the site — including engineers, chemists, analytical scientists, and quality specialists — is expected to begin immediately.

The Business Standard reports Patrik Jonsson, president of Eli Lilly International, said the company is “making significant investments to increase manufacturing and medicine supply capacity around the world,” and highlighted India as a “hub for capability building within Lilly’s global network.”

The investment follows Lilly’s $6.5 billion plan to build a new API manufacturing plant in Texas and its $5 billion plan to build a new facility in Virginia, part of a $27 billion effort to expand U.S. manufacturing over the next five years. The projects support ongoing reshoring efforts by global pharmaceutical firms as the Trump administration has threatened a 100% tariff on imported branded and patented medicines.