Eli Lilly broke ground on a $6.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 21, 2026. The 236-acre site at Generation Park will produce Foundayo, the company’s first synthetic oral GLP-1 medication, along with other advanced therapeutics. Lilly selected Houston from more than 300 U.S. locations last September as part of a broader $50 billion investment in domestic medicine production that has included 10 new manufacturing sites since 2020.
What it means
The facility is expected to come online in 2030, creating 4,000 construction jobs during the build phase. Once operational, the plant will hire engineers, scientists, operations personnel, and lab technicians. Lilly committed $12.5 million to San Jacinto College for workforce development, including hands-on training, equipment, facilities, and scholarships for future technicians, operators, maintenance professionals, and other manufacturing talent. The company also made a $2.5 million charitable donation to the San Jacinto College Foundation.
Generation Park is a 4,300-acre master-planned commercial district near Lake Houston that hosts campuses for San Jacinto College and Lone Star College. Bristol Myers Squibb Co. announced plans last month to build a $2.3 billion factory in the same district, expected to come online around 2030 and produce small molecule, biologic, and antibody-drug conjugate products.
Key facts
- $6.5 billion: Cost of Eli Lilly’s Houston manufacturing site
- Sept. 21, 2026: Groundbreaking date
- 236 acres: Size of the Eli Lilly factory site
- 2030: Expected year the facility comes online
- 4,000 construction jobs to be created
- $50 billion: Total value of Lilly’s domestic medicine production investment since 2020
- 10 manufacturing sites launched by Lilly since 2020
- $12.5 million committed to San Jacinto College for workforce development
Source: Eli Lilly news release, reported by InnovationMap