'A good day for Cork': Eli Lilly expansion sees new opportunities come to Leeside

A pharmaceutical giant’s CEO has said its Kinsale site is “an expertise centre for the world”, following the unveiling of a new $800m (€723.5m) facility expansion yesterday.

The facility, where five of eight blockbuster medicines produced by the giant are made, began production last year to meet the demand for the company’s diabetes and obesity treatments.

The new facility in Kinsale has begun production of ingredients for two industry-first drugs, Mounjaro, for the treatment of diabetes, and Zepbound, for the treatment of obesity, which have been subject to supply-chain shortages following the covid pandemic.

Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said: “It’s a good day for both Cork and [Eli] Lilly.”

Asked if he believes production of all eight blockbuster medications would soon come to the Kinsale location, Mr Ricks said: “It’s possible”.

He added that increased capacity at the site is something the company would hope to see in the future.

“We are moving our strategy from single-source to dual,” Mr Ricks said.

“I think many businesses learned through the pandemic, especially, of the fragility of supply chain, so increasing our mirroring processes, usually one in the US, and one in Europe like this, may mean more work coming here for the three [blockbuster medicines] that are missing.”

In relation to new roles being introduced at the site to meet demand, Mr Ricks said that its existing employees have been retrained at the facility to undertake the updated processes.

“In reality, that is a job creation, because as products go off patent we would have had to close operations, and if we didn’t renew this site, those would be jobs lost,” he said.

'SUSTAIN EMPLOYMENT'

“So this is a way we can sustain employment and keep this site as a really important centre for us.”

Mr Ricks, who travelled from the US to attend the ceremony, further said that Ireland is “a great source of talent” for the company, as Eli Lilly has had three Irish leaders work on the executive committee, the most of any European country.

“I think Irish people have a great gift of both being technically able and quite personable, which is a good fit for the Lilly culture, and I’m sure we’ll have many more executives emerge from this site,” said Mr Ricks.

“We have evolved the site’s mission dramatically, and this building, which makes our latest blockbuster medication, is a vote of confidence for the Kinsale site and the people who work here, but also super important for us to supply medicines globally.

“This building is only one part of a $20bn [€18bn] program that’s been announced in the last few years, [and] almost all of that [is] for these medications.

“We ask for patience, because to build the facility and qualify it and staff it takes years, and people want an answer immediately. We’re committed to continue that journey.

“We’re already shipping commercial products in the US from here and eventually to many, many markets around the world.”

The expansion ceremony at the Kinsale facility, which saw several key industry stakeholders in attendance, came alongside the announcement of a $1bn (€904m) expansion of its Limerick facility, which is currently under construction.

Additionally, speaking at the ceremony, Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said: “This is an exciting new phase for Eli Lilly and for Kinsale.

“It’s incredible that five out of eight blockbuster medicines for the global Eli Lilly company are made here, and that just demonstrates how important the area is [in Kinsale] and what it offers.”