The Lilly Medicine Foundry is the name of the facility where innovative production techniques with an emphasis on efficiency will be developed. With the success of its obesity and weight loss medications Mounjaro and Zepbound, Lilly is hoping that this approach would help advance the other products in its pipeline.

The foundry has two functions: it conducts research on novel manufacturing techniques and then uses those techniques to produce pharmaceuticals for clinical trials. According to the firm, this facility will be the first of its type to bring together manufacturing and research in one place.

The facility will be prepared to produce small compounds, biologics, and genetic therapies when it opens in late 2027. The location is close to a $9 billion manufacturing facility that Lilly is developing in Lebanon, Indiana, to make pharmaceutical chemicals such as tirzepatide, which is the active component of Zepbound and Mounjaro.

These investments are a part of Lilly's strategy to capitalise on the success of Mounjaro and Zepbound, which are leading the way in the market for GLP-1 medications together with Wegovy and Ozempic from Novo Nordisk.

By 2028, Mounjaro and Zepbound alone are predicted to generate $50 billion in sales, about double the total revenue of the business in 2022. Lilly now has greater investment freedom, but it also means that in order to continue expanding in the years to come, the business will need to research and develop additional novel treatments.   

Lilly has already started to plan life after tirzepatide. The organisation aspires to create further medications to treat neurodegenerative diseases including ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as Alzheimer's disease.

Chief scientific officer Dr. Skovronsky stated that Lilly is searching for "breakthrough ideas" in areas like cardiovascular illness, chronic pain, and hearing loss in addition to more recent ones like immunology and cancer, where the business already has a presence.

(Sources: cnbc.com)