Lilly Breaks Ground on $3.5 Billion Plant in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania’s Largest-Ever Life Sciences Investment
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) announced on November 13, 2026, that Eli Lilly and Company has broken ground on a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Fogelsville, Lehigh County, the largest life sciences investment in Pennsylvania history and Lilly's first plant in the state.
The facility, at 8810 Main Street in Fogelsville, will primarily produce injectable medicines and devices, with a focus on next-generation obesity treatments. Lilly CEO David A. Ricks pointed to the company's obesity drug candidate retatrutide at the event. The project is expected to create 850 permanent jobs and about 2,000 construction jobs.
State support totals $100 million: up to $50 million in PA Edge tax credits, $25 million through PA SITES and $25 million through Pennsylvania First. The state will also provide up to $5 million in redevelopment capital funding to help Lehigh Carbon Community College build a workforce training pipeline for the plant.
DCED Secretary Rick Siger said the project's stormwater permit was approved in 47 days, nearly 60 percent faster than expected, under the state's Permit Fast Track program. Don Cunningham, president of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, called it the largest economic development project in Lehigh Valley history.
According to DCED, Pennsylvania's life sciences sector includes about 3,900 companies employing more than 110,000 people, with a direct economic contribution of about $73 billion. The Shapiro administration has made life sciences a priority for business recruitment, and the Lilly plant is its signature win so far.
Source: 宾夕法尼亚州社区与经济发展厅
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图片来源：宾夕法尼亚州社区与经济发展厅官方照片，图中为礼来药厂在 Lehigh Valley 的动工仪式现场 Image: official photo, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development; showing the Lilly groundbreaking ceremony in the Lehigh Valley
