New facility will manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients for medicines like Foundayo (orforglipron), strengthening domestic supply chain

Site will employ more than 600 people in high-wage jobs

$12.5 million in support to build talent pipeline, workforce training center with San Jacinto College

HOUSTON, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) broke ground today in Houston, Texas, one of ten U.S. manufacturing sites — and fifth location to produce domestic active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) — announced since 2020. As part of the company's $50 billion push to reshore medicine production to meet growing demand at home and export American-made medicines to people around the world, the $6.5 billion Houston site will manufacture Foundayo (orforglipron), Lilly's first synthetic oral GLP-1 medicine, along with other small-molecule medicines and advanced therapeutics.

Foundayo is a GLP-1 receptor agonist approved in the U.S. for weight management in adults with obesity, or adults with overweight and a weight-related condition. It is a small molecule rather than a peptide; small molecules are manufactured using more well-established technologies and therefore can be more readily scalable. Foundayo is currently under regulatory review in more than 40 countries, with a full global rollout targeted for 2027. Lilly is also studying Foundayo for other uses, including type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea, with data expected later this year.