Lilly plans $3 billion Dutch plant to make orforglipron and other oral medicines

Eli Lilly said on Nov. 3, 2025 that it plans to build a $3 billion manufacturing plant in Katwijk, the Netherlands, to expand production of oral medicines, including orforglipron, its experimental GLP-1 weight-loss pill ^[1][2]. The site would sit inside the Leiden Bio Science Park ^[1][2][3].

Lilly said the facility "will be among those that will manufacture orforglipron," which it describes as its first oral, small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist ^[2][3]. The company expects to submit orforglipron to global regulatory agencies for obesity by the end of this year ^[2][3]. The drug is not approved for any use, and no date for a regulatory decision has been disclosed.

The plant is not only for weight-loss medicine. Lilly said it will produce oral solid medicines across cardiometabolic health, neuroscience, oncology and immunology ^[2][3]. Listed capabilities include paperless manufacturing, dock-to-dock automation, process analytical technology and spray-dried dispersion, which Lilly says is a process that allows oral medicines to be effectively absorbed ^[2][3]. CEO David Ricks said the plant would use AI-driven real-time analytics "to deliver medicines faster with higher quality and more reliably to people around the world" ^[1].

Lilly said the site would bring 500 high-wage jobs, including engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians, plus an estimated 1,500 construction jobs ^[1][2]. Construction is expected to begin next year ^[1][2]. Lilly said the investment depends on final government permits and local approvals ^[2][3]. The company did not say when the plant would be finished or how much orforglipron it would be able to make; those details have not been disclosed.

Ricks said at a press conference that the Netherlands was chosen partly because of its proximity to the European Medicines Agency and the availability of a skilled, multilingual workforce ^[1]. In Lilly's release, he said localized manufacturing lets the company "quickly respond to meet regional demand and accelerate distribution within Europe" ^[2][3].

The announcement comes days after Lilly announced a more than $1.2 billion expansion of its site in Carolina, Puerto Rico, to boost orforglipron production ^[1]. Lilly has said it plans to announce two new U.S. manufacturing sites in the coming months ^[1][2]. Shares of the company rose 2.5% following the Dutch announcement ^[1].

Lilly's existing European manufacturing sites are in France, Ireland, Italy and Spain, with two more under construction in Ireland and Germany, according to Reuters ^[1]. Lilly's own release describes three additional European Union sites planned since 2020: Ireland, Germany and now the Netherlands ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

Orforglipron is a GLP-1 medicine designed to be taken as a pill ^[1][2]. Building factories years ahead of a possible approval does not change what is available now: orforglipron cannot be prescribed unless regulators clear it, and Lilly has not said when that might happen ^[2][3].

The Dutch plant is aimed at European supply and distribution ^[2][3]. The sites relevant to U.S. patients are the ones Lilly is building and expanding in the United States — Puerto Rico, Texas and Virginia, plus two locations still to be named ^[1][2]. Lilly says building in different regions is meant to strengthen its global supply chain and support a growing portfolio of oral medicines, not only orforglipron ^[1][2].

The announcements did not include information about price, insurance coverage or how easily patients might get an oral GLP-1 if one is approved. Those details have not been disclosed.

What happens next

Lilly expects to submit orforglipron to global regulators for obesity by the end of 2025 ^[2][3]. Approval timing has not been disclosed.

Construction of the Katwijk plant is expected to start in 2026, contingent on permits and local approvals ^[1][2]. Lilly says two more U.S. manufacturing sites will be announced in the next few months ^[1][2].