Eli Lilly, headquartered in Indianapolis, has broken ground on a $6.5 billion active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas. The site will produce Foundayo (orforglipron), the company’s synthetic oral GLP-1 medicine, along with other small molecule medicines and advanced therapeutics.

The Houston facility is Lilly’s fifth U.S. API manufacturing location announced since 2020 and one of 10 U.S. manufacturing sites announced by the company during that period. The company said the site is part of a broader $50 billion investment in domestic medicine manufacturing capacity.

Foundayo is a small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist approved in the U.S. for weight management. Lilly said the Houston site also will manufacture oligonucleotides and other advanced therapeutics, expanding its production capabilities beyond conventional small-molecule medicines.

Lilly expects the facility to employ more than 600 engineers, scientists, operations personnel and laboratory technicians. Construction is expected to create about 4,000 jobs, according to the announcement.

The company is also providing $12.5 million to San Jacinto College to develop training pathways and expand equipment and facilities for advanced chemical synthesis manufacturing careers. The program will support training for technicians, operators, maintenance professionals, and other manufacturing personnel. Lilly is separately donating $2.5 million to the San Jacinto College Foundation for student scholarships.

The site will incorporate machine learning, artificial intelligence, digitally integrated systems, and data analytics, with automation embedded throughout manufacturing operations, according to Lilly.

The Houston project follows Lilly’s expanded manufacturing partnership with Resilience in Ohio. Announced in July, the $750 million investment will add production of Lilly’s injectable device for diabetes and obesity medicines at Resilience’s Cincinnati-area operations and is expected to create at least 400 jobs. Operations are targeted to begin in early 2027.