Lilly plans $6 billion Alabama plant to help make its oral GLP-1 pill

Eli Lilly said on Dec. 9, 2025 that it plans to invest more than $6 billion in a new manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama. The site will be among those that make orforglipron, the company's experimental oral GLP-1 pill, Lilly said ^[1][3][6].

The announcement was made with Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle ^[1][2]. Ivey called the project "the largest initial investment in our state's history" ^[1][3].

The plant will be built on a 260-acre site at Greenbrier South, at the northeast corner of Interstate 565 and Greenbrier Parkway in Huntsville-Limestone County ^[2]. Lilly said it selected the location from more than 300 applications, partly because of its proximity to the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and also cited access to utilities, transportation, zoning and incentives ^[1][3][6].

The facility is designed to make active pharmaceutical ingredients, or APIs, for small molecule synthetic and peptide medicines ^[1][3][6]. In other words, it is planned to make the chemical ingredients in medicines rather than finished pills, pens or vials. According to Lilly, the Huntsville site "will be among those that will manufacture orforglipron," its first oral, small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, which the company expects to submit to global regulatory agencies for obesity by the end of this year ^[3][6].

Lilly said the plant will bring 450 permanent jobs, including engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians, plus about 3,000 construction jobs ^[1][2][3]. Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with completion expected in 2032 ^[1][2][3]. Lilly also estimates that for every dollar it invests in Huntsville, up to four dollars in additional local economic activity will follow ^[1][3][6].

The Alabama project is the third of four new U.S. sites Lilly plans to announce ^[1][3][6]. The city of Huntsville said Lilly's total U.S. capital expansion commitments since 2020 now exceed $50 billion ^[2]. CNBC reported that Lilly said in February it would spend at least $27 billion on four new domestic plants, on top of $23 billion in earlier investments since 2020 ^[4]. Lilly has also announced orforglipron production plans in Texas and a $1.2 billion expansion in Puerto Rico, along with a $5 billion site in Virginia, a $3 billion site in the Netherlands and a $1 billion expansion in Ireland ^[5]. Another U.S. location will be announced in the coming weeks, the company said ^[3][6].

Orforglipron is not yet approved for obesity. As of the announcement, Lilly had not submitted it to regulators; the company said it expected to file with global agencies by the end of 2025 ^[3][6]. CNBC reported that the pill won a priority review voucher from the Food and Drug Administration in November, which can significantly shorten the agency's assessment ^[4]. GlobalData, a data and analytics company, forecasts orforglipron sales of $13 billion in 2031 and estimates a 2026 launch ^[5]. Rival Novo Nordisk is awaiting an FDA decision on its weight loss pill, oral Wegovy (semaglutide), expected in the fourth quarter of 2025 ^[5].

Why it matters for patients

The Huntsville plant is not expected to make any medicine available in the near term; API production is not slated to begin until the facility is completed in 2032 ^[1][2][3]. Lilly has not disclosed how much orforglipron capacity the site will add, what the drug would cost, which other medicines will be made there, or whether U.S. ingredient production would change prices for patients.

The company frames the investment as a supply-chain move. Lilly chair and CEO David A. Ricks said the project "continues the onshoring of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production, strengthening supply chain resilience and reliable access to medicines for patients in the U.S." ^[1][3]. CNBC noted that Lilly and Novo Nordisk faced supply shortages for their weekly GLP-1 injections after U.S. demand rose sharply, though the companies have since alleviated those issues ^[4].

Orforglipron itself is still experimental. The sources do not state its price, its approval timeline beyond Lilly's expected submission, or how it would compare with existing GLP-1 medicines in effectiveness or side effects.

What happens next

• Lilly expects to submit orforglipron to global regulatory agencies for obesity by the end of 2025 ^[3][6].
• The FDA is expected to decide on oral Wegovy (semaglutide) in the fourth quarter of 2025 ^[5].
• Construction on the Huntsville site is expected to begin in 2026 ^[1][2][3].
• Another U.S. Lilly manufacturing location is to be announced in the coming weeks ^[3][6].
• Completion of the Huntsville facility is expected in 2032 ^[1][2][3].