Lilly puts $1.2 billion into Puerto Rico for oral drug capacity

Eli Lilly said on Oct. 29, 2025 that it will invest more than $1.2 billion to expand and modernize its Lilly del Caribe manufacturing site in Carolina, Puerto Rico, adding capacity to make oral solid medicines, including its experimental GLP-1 pill orforglipron.^[1][3] The project is expected to create about 100 new manufacturing jobs and up to 1,000 construction jobs, with construction starting in 2026 and the facility expected to begin producing medicine by the end of 2028.^[3][4]

The Puerto Rico site has operated for 60 years and has mainly made active pharmaceutical ingredients for Lilly's insulin products.^[1] The new investment will add "highly advanced technologies," including automation, paperless manufacturing, and spray-dried dispersion, a process that helps oral drugs get absorbed by the body.^[3]

Orforglipron is Lilly's first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist and is not yet approved by the FDA. The company expects to submit it for approval by the end of 2025.^[1][2] Analysts have projected peak sales for the drug of $10 billion to $15 billion.^[1] In a Phase 3 diabetes trial called ACHIEVE-1, orforglipron lowered blood sugar (A1C) by 1.5% at 40 weeks, and in the Phase 3 ATTAIN-2 weight-loss trial, it produced a 10.5% drop in body weight at 72 weeks.^[2]

This is the third U.S. manufacturing project Lilly has detailed since February 2025, when it said it would spend $27 billion on new domestic plants.^[2] The company has also announced a $5 billion facility in Virginia, expected to bring about 2,500 jobs, and a $6.5 billion plant in Texas, with 615 new positions.^[2] Altogether, Lilly says it has committed more than $50 billion to U.S. manufacturing since 2020, with two more "mega site" locations still to be named.^[1][3]

Why it matters for patients

This investment does not change access, price, or approval status for any current GLP-1 medicine today. Orforglipron remains unapproved, and Lilly has not yet filed its application with the FDA as of this announcement.^[1] The Puerto Rico plant will not start producing drugs until the end of 2028, so it will not affect supply in the near term.^[3][4]

The broader trend, though, matters to patients trying to understand supply and pricing pressures. Lilly and other drugmakers, including Merck, Roche, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, and Novartis, have announced tens of billions of dollars in new U.S. manufacturing plans this year.^[1] Reuters reports these moves come as companies try to hedge against potential tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals; President Trump has threatened a 100% tax on imported drugs, with exemptions floated for companies building U.S. plants.^[1][4] Whether this manufacturing buildout eventually eases supply constraints for GLP-1 drugs, many of which have faced shortages in past years, is not yet known from these sources.

For people specifically interested in an oral GLP-1 option, orforglipron's trial data offer an early look at what an approved pill version might do, but approval and real-world availability remain pending.^[2]

What happens next

Lilly expects to submit orforglipron for approval to global regulators, including the FDA, by the end of 2025.^[1][3] Construction on the Puerto Rico expansion is set to begin in 2026, with the facility expected to start producing medicine by the end of 2028.^[3][4] Lilly also plans to announce locations for two more large U.S. manufacturing sites in the coming months.^[1][4] Separately, Novo Nordisk has already filed for FDA approval of an oral version of Wegovy, with a decision expected before the end of 2025.^[2]