RICHMOND, Va. β Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly will construct a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Goochland County as part of a massive $50 billion expansion, officials announced during a ceremony Tuesday.
The new facility will serve as the company's first dedicated, fully-integrated active pharmaceutical ingredient and drug product facility for cancer, autoimmune conditions and other advanced therapies, according to Dave Ricks, chair and CEO of the company, which does business as Lilly.
The $5 billion investment represents one piece of the company's larger $50 billion expansion that began in 2020 and was renewed in Virginia in February, Ricks said. The selection process was highly competitive, with Lilly receiving more than 400 responses from 46 states.
"We did a request for information in February originally to land this site and received over 400 responses from across the country from 46 states. And we chose this site among all of those, it was a highly competitive process, and we're proud to be here with you today," Ricks said.
"Today is really exciting. This is really awesome," said Gov. Glenn Youngkin at the event.
The 200,000-square-foot pharmaceutical facility comes with Virginia's commitment to become ground zero for life-saving drugs and cutting-edge research, particularly for cancer and obesity treatments, Youngkin said.
"We get to collectively say that made in America means made in Virginia," Youngkin said.
Youngkin highlighted Virginia's existing workforce capabilities and educational partnerships to support the facility's operations.
"In collaboration with our community colleges to develop a manufacturing associates degree for pharmaceuticals credentials, and of course right here at Virginia Commonwealth University we have something very unique in America which is a Ph.D. program for pharmaceutical manufacturing," Youngkin said.
Officials said the project will create more than 1,800 construction jobs, followed by more than 650 full-time positions once the facility becomes fully operational. According to both the governor and Lilly's CEO, the project is expected to be completed within the next five years.
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