Eli Lilly will build a factory in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, to produce treatments for obesity, including retatrutide, with an investment of 3.5 billion dollars.

Eli Lilly has announced an investment of over 3.5 billion dollars in a new factory in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, which will produce innovative treatments for obesity, including the experimental drug retatrutide. This is the fourth facility in a series of investments that the company has launched in the U.S., part of a broader 27 billion dollar program for domestic production facilities, in addition to 23 billion invested since 2020.

Construction of the new factory will begin this year, and the unit is expected to become operational in 2031, creating approximately 850 direct jobs. Retatrutide is considered a key element of the company's long-term strategy, with the potential to help patients with severe obesity. Lilly and its rival, Novo Nordisk, are expanding their production capacities in the U.S. in response to past supply issues and pressures regarding tariffs on imported drugs.