Present in Ireland for more than 40 years, Eli Lilly manufacturers treatments in areas such as Alzheimer’s, cancer and diabetes.
Eli Lilly and Company, the US pharmaceutical giant, plans to invest more than €400m in a new manufacturing facility in Limerick that will create more than 300 full-time jobs.
The new Limerick facility will support and expand Eli Lilly’s global manufacturing network for active ingredients used in medicines to meet increased demand for its products – including its Alzheimer’s portfolio.
Eli Lilly will create more than 300 new highly skilled permanent jobs as a result, including engineers, scientists and operations personnel, who will use cutting-edge biologics manufacturing technology to produce life-changing treatments. The company manufactures medicines in areas such as Alzheimer’s, cancer and diabetes, among others.
There will also be roles for around 500 people during the construction of the new facility.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, TD, said that the new Eli Lilly facility is “fantastic news” for Limerick and the entire mid-west region, which has “become a real hub for leading biopharma companies”.
“Lilly produces crucial healthcare products which are making a huge difference to the lives of patients around the world fighting some of the world’s most serious illnesses. This new manufacturing centre is a significant expansion of that work,” he said.
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Eli Lilly was founded in 1876. Its first Irish base in Kinsale, Co Cork, started manufacturing active ingredients for medicines in 1981, and received the green light in 2017 for a €200m expansion.
Last year, an extension to the manufacturing facility was opened with the potential for “a substantial number of new jobs” at the Cork base. In total, the company now employs about 2,300 people in Cork.
“Over the past 40 years, we have continued to invest in Ireland in part because of supportive Government policies that value life science innovation,” said Edgardo Hernandez, president of Eli Lilly’s manufacturing operations.
“This new campus will allow us to expand our capacity to make innovative new medicines that can help treat some of the world’s most serious illnesses.”
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