Lilly to build $470m North Carolina facility, trumpets tax reform

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(Image: Getty/Darwin Brandis) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Lilly will begin construction of a parenteral products-focused facility this year, suggesting that 462 new jobs will be created.

The ‘state-of-the-art’ manufacturing facility will be located in Durham, North Carolina, within the US state’s Research Triangle Park.

Eli Lilly suggested that it would spend $470m (€423m) on the new development, which will be responsible for producing parenteral products, as well as creating drug delivery devices.

In addition to the investment into the site, the company noted that it would create 462 roles in the state, including positions for scientists, engineers, quality professionals and manufacturing operations. Lilly stated that the average wage would be $72,000 – slightly above the current average for Durham country, which is $71,756.

The state of North Carolina will support the project through the potential provision of $8.6m designated to the company over the course of the next 12 years.

CEO of Lilly, David Ricks, released a statement suggesting that the investment had been made possible due to the 2017 tax reform, which had “rebalanced the playing field in favor of the American worker.”

This refrain is similar to Lilly’s previous announcement, towards the end of last year, when the company announced a $400m investment in its Lilly Technology Center campus in Indianapolis.

Though the company is currently focused on investing in the US, its other sites across the globe have experienced cuts. Last year, Lilly France announced that 250 positions would be lost from its site in Fegersheim due to pricing pressure.