Eli Lilly to officially open new $800m facility expansion in Kinsale

Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company is today unveiling its new $800m facility expansion in Kinsale.

Production of medicines at the state-of-the-art facility began last year to meet the demand for the company’s diabetes and obesity treatments.

The pharmaceutical company has today also announced the a $1bn expansion of its Limerick facility, currently under construction.

The Limerick investment project is subject to planning approval, and the company said it will submit a planning application to the Limerick City and County Council in due course.

Once complete, Limerick will join Lilly’s global manufacturing network producing the biologic active ingredients for the company’s Alzheimer’s disease portfolio and other biologic medicines.

Speaking on the official opening of the expansion in Kinsale and the proposed expansion of the Limerick facility, Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Peter Burke said the state-of-the-art developments “will contribute to the treatment of diseases affecting millions of people across the world”.

“They will also create hundreds of new jobs, directly and indirectly, adding to the thousands already employed in Ireland by Lilly," he said. 

“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."

Executive vice president and president of Lilly manufacturing operations, Edgardo Hernandez, said 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”.

The investments have been supported by IDA Ireland.

“Today’s announcement in Limerick effectively doubles down on Eli Lilly and Company’s 2022 announcement to build a new manufacturing facility in Raheen.

“Meanwhile the official opening of the $800 million expansion of its manufacturing site in Kinsale enhances the campus’ capabilities to create complex peptides,” IDA Ireland CEO, Michael Lohan, said.

“Since establishing in Ireland in 1978, Lilly’s operations here have been producing key healthcare products that have supported the fight against several of the world’s most serious illness.

“I wish to assure Lilly of IDA Ireland’s continued partnership and wish them every success with the far-reaching outcomes of the investments unveiled today.”