13 Sep 2024
A great week for Cork! – Eli Lilly unveils new $800m facility
The company unveiled its new $800 million (€723.5m) investment in Cork at its facility in Kinsale. The site began making medicines last year to meet demand for Lilly’s latest diabetes and obesity treatments.
This additional investment in Cork is part of the most ambitious manufacturing expansion agenda in the company’s history. Since 2020, Lilly has committed more than $20 billion to build, expand and acquire manufacturing facilities.
This new facility in Kinsale began production of ingredients for two industry-first drugs. These include Mounjaro, for the treatment of diabetes, and Zepbound, for the treatment of obesity. Both have have been subject to supply-chain shortages following the covid pandemic.
“This is an exciting new phase for Eli Lilly and for Kinsale. It’s incredible that five out of eight blockbuster medicines for the global Eli Lilly company are made here, and that just demonstrates how important the area is [in Kinsale] and what it offers.“
“Eli Lilly and Company has made a huge commitment to Ireland for almost half a century and these announcements today further solidify their confidence in Ireland as a global leader in the Biopharma sector. Thanks to the Lilly team for their continued investment in Ireland, which is greatly valued by the Irish Government.”
Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Peter Burke
“These investments will boost the production of some of Lilly’s medicines, helping millions of people with diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease live the healthiest lives possible”
Ely Lilly President, Global Manufacturing, Edgardo Hernandez
State of the art facility
The official opening of Lilly’s Kinsale site expansion marks the completion of the state-of-the-art project to upgrade. The site employs a digital-first process, integrating continuous manufacturing technology to create a new manufacturing platform for creating complex peptides. This facility was recently recognized as the winner of the Innovation category in the prestigious “Facility of the Year” awards program run by the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers.
The companies website release states, “Ireland’s skilled workforce, regulatory environment and pro-innovation government policies have contributed to Lilly’s nearly fifty-year presence in the country.”
Lilly’s history in Ireland began with the purchase of a site near Kinsale in 1978. Today, the Cork campus makes active ingredients for use in the worldwide supply of Lilly medicines. The company uses three distinct high-technology manufacturing platforms – chemical synthesis, biotechnology and peptide synthesis. These technologies make it a rare and exceptional facility in the global pharmaceutical landscape.
Lilly Global Business Solutions (GBS) in Little Island, Cork, was established in 2010. It has since evolved from shared service provider to a global business partner. It is central to the end-to-end delivery of life-saving medicines for patients worldwide, from clinical development to patient support.
The Lilly Ireland commercial team works across the country with healthcare stakeholders to help identify the needs of patients and healthcare professionals and to deliver pharmaceutical-based healthcare solutions.
The announcement by Eli Lilly is one of a number of positive jobs and investment announcements for Cork in recent weeks.
Cara Partners, a member of the Schwabe Group has announced a €130m modernisation and expansion of its Little Island Facility in Cork. This multi-million-euro investment is expected to create 60 new highly skilled roles over the next four years.
Cork-based cybersecurity company Smarttech247 to create 50 jobs. Expansion plans will focus on channel and strategic partnerships with creation of new jobs
Smarttech247, a multi-award-winning provider of AI-enhanced cybersecurity services providing automated managed detection and response for a portfolio of international clients, announces the launch of a new route to market strategy. The launch is part of its wider growth plans and expansion of their Cork-based team over the next 12 months.
NetApp, a global, cloud-led, data-centric software company, today announced the creation of 60 new jobs in Cork. Their international headquarters office is in Navigation Square within Cork’s Docklands, Ireland’s largest and most ambitious urban regeneration project.
Live, work, study and invest in Cork
These recent announcements highlight the crucial role Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plays in igniting the economy in the region. These companies are undoubtedly drawn to the talent emerging by the city’s two universities, University College Cork (UCC) and Munster Technological University (MTU). Additionally, Cork City Council and other stakeholders have nurtured a highly innovative, supportive, and collaborative business ecosystem.
To find out more about Living, Working, Studying and Investing in Cork visit WeareCork.ie.