Lilly invests $1.2B to expand Puerto Rico operations
Eli Lilly and Co. will invest $1.2 billion to expand and modernize its manufacturing complex in Carolina, marking one of the largest private-sector investments ever announced in Puerto Rico.
The project will increase production of oral solid medicines, integrate renewable energy systems and strengthen Puerto Rico’s role in the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain, company and government officials said during a news briefing in Carolina.
The Carolina site will play a central role in manufacturing orforglipron, Lilly’s first oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, which the company plans to submit for regulatory approval as an obesity treatment by year’s end.
The initiative will upgrade Lilly del Caribe’s PR01 plant, built in 1968, into an oral solid dose manufacturing facility and expand the PR05 plant dedicated to insulin production. The improvements will incorporate automation, data analytics and spray-dried dispersion technologies to improve efficiency and quality.
“After 60 years, Lilly del Caribe continues to play an important role in making life-changing medicines for people in the U.S. and beyond,” said Edgardo Hernández, president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations, who oversees facilities in Puerto Rico, the U.S. mainland and abroad.
“Our continued investments in capacity, infrastructure, advanced technologies and highly specialized jobs will further cement the site’s significance in Lilly’s global manufacturing network,” said Hernández, a Puerto Rico native who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, and a master’s in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University.
The $1.2 billion expansion is expected to create about 1,000 construction jobs and 100 new manufacturing positions while retaining more than 1,000 existing roles at the Carolina complex.
Economic Development Secretary Sebastián Negrón said the investment “reaffirms a partnership that has endured for six decades and reflects the industrial evolution of our island.”
“With this historic investment, Puerto Rico demonstrates its ability to attract world-class capital, strengthens the security of the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain and positions the island as a strategic hub within Lilly’s $50 billion U.S. manufacturing expansion commitment,” he said.
The project also includes sustainability measures such as a 9-megawatt cogeneration unit and a 2 MW solar field that will supply up to 85% of the Carolina site’s energy demand. The investment is part of Lilly’s broader U.S. expansion strategy, which includes new facilities in Texas and Virginia.
Gov. Jenniffer González called the announcement “a powerful vote of confidence in our people, our infrastructure and our long-term competitiveness within the U.S. supply chain.”
She said the project supports the government’s policy of positioning Puerto Rico as a leader in advanced manufacturing, innovation and national economic security.
Ella Woger-Nieves, CEO of Invest Puerto Rico, said Lilly’s decision underscores the island’s standing as a global manufacturing center.
“Eli Lilly’s expansion reaffirms the confidence that the world’s top pharmaceutical companies place in Puerto Rico’s ability to drive innovation, quality and operational resilience,” she said.
Construction on the facility is scheduled to begin in 2026, with medicine production expected by late 2028.
Lilly has operated in Puerto Rico for more than 60 years and has invested more than $2 billion locally. The company employs about 1,000 people with an annual payroll of $109 million and works with hundreds of suppliers across the island.
