Global pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and Co. will invest $3.5 billion to build a manufacturing plant in Upper Macungie Township that is expected to create 850 jobs. “This is the largest single project in Lehigh Valley history,” said Don Cunningham, president and CEO of Lehigh Valley Development Corp. “We’ve never had anything close to a $3.5 billion investment right out of the blocks.” It is also the largest investment by a life sciences company in state history, according to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office. It will be Indianapolis-based Lilly’s first manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031. Shapiro joined Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks for the announcement Friday morning at Curiosity Hall in the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. “When we announced our economic development strategy here in the Lehigh Valley two years ago, we set out to win historic, life-changing deals like the one we’re announcing with Lilly today,” Shapiro said. “Before I took office, Pennsylvania wasn’t even in the conversation for major investments like this, but thanks to our work to cut red tape, invest in site development, and expand our workforce, our Commonwealth is now competing — and winning — on a national scale. “Lilly’s commitment to the Lehigh Valley and to Pennsylvania will bring billions of dollars of investment and hundreds of good-paying jobs, solidifying our position as a leader in the growing life sciences industry,” he said. Ricks said Lilly is expanding to meet increasing demand for next-generation weight-loss medicines. That includes Zepbound and in the future Retatrutide, a next-generation that is a triple-acting hormone receptor agonist. It is currently in clinical trials. “We’re creating high-quality jobs and collaborating across the region — with suppliers, educators and workforce-development partners — to make critical medicines in the U.S.,” Ricks said. “That’s our commitment — to patients, to our new Pennsylvania home and to our country.” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks, and Jaindl Land Development President David Jaindl appear after a news conference to announce a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs.(Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announce plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announce plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announces plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announce plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Gov. Josh Shapiro, Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks and David Jaindl, Jaindl Land Development, after a press conference to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announce plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announces plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announce plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel, left, and Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Don Cunningham, appear prior to Eli Lilly’s announcement of a new $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Tony Iannelli appears before Eli Lilly’s announcement of a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, at a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announces plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announce plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Gov. Josh Shapiro prior to Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks announces plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, during a news conference Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2031, with 850 employees. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Show Caption1 of 14Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Eli Lilly Chair and CEO Dave Ricks, and Jaindl Land Development President David Jaindl appear after a news conference to announce a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant in Upper Macungie Township, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. Construction is expected to begin this year, creating about 2,000 construction jobs.(Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call) Expand Beating out 300 competitors Lilly announced last year that it planned to bolster its domestic medicine production across therapeutic areas by building four pharmaceutical manufacturing sites in the U.S. This brings the company’s U.S. capital expansion commitments to more than $50 billion since 2020. Ricks said the Lehigh Valley was among 300 applicants for the four plants. The other three were awarded to sites in Texas, Alabama and Virginia. “For several reasons, we chose this region,” Ricks said. “One is the reliable partners we met in the process, starting with the governor, but including everyone. We’re all committed to the same thing, which is building a high-quality facility, doing it the right way and providing great jobs for people in the region. “Additionally, it was the commitment to rapid permitting to build this and an ecosystem around us that really supports us in what we do.” Ricks said the average salary at the plant will be $100,000 per year. “Those are high-value jobs,” he said. “I can say with a lot of confidence: [They] change the trajectory of families.” “Every one of these jobs is a future homeowner,” said Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel. “It’s a stable family. The chance for a family to look their children in the eyes and know that they can give them the best possible future.” It was pointed out by more than one speaker that many local businesses will also benefit from a growing customer base. Upper Macungie itself is one of the fastest growing townships in the state, with the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission projecting its population of 30,000 doubling in the next 25 years. Jeff Fleischaker, chair of the Upper Macungie Board of Supervisors, said the township has been investing in improving infrastructure and building amenities such as the future community lifestyle center. “We are excited about the opportunity to engage with you,” he said to Ricks. Where will it be? Cunningham said Lilly will build a campus with seven buildings on land owned by Jaindl Land Development along Main Street, also known as Old Route 22, just west of Fogelsville. It will be visible from Interstate 78. “When people enter the Lehigh Valley from the west … they’re going to see Eli Lilly right as they enter,” Cunningham said. “This facility is going to be right on I-78.” Looking west on Old Route 22/Main Street at the intersection with Haaf Road in Upper Macungie Township is the proposed site of a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant Eli Lilly plans to build, seen Thursday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Sharon Merkel/Special to The Morning Call) Looking north on Old Route 22/Main Street at the intersection with Haaf Road in Upper Macungie Township is the proposed site of a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant Eli Lilly plans to build, seen Thursday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Sharon Merkel/Special to The Morning Call) Looking west on Old Route 22/Main Street at the intersection with Haaf Road in Upper Macungie Township is the proposed site of a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant Eli Lilly plans to build, seen Thursday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Sharon Merkel/Special to The Morning Call) Looking west on Old Route 22/Main Street at the intersection with Haaf Road in Upper Macungie Township is the proposed site of a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant Eli Lilly plans to build, seen Thursday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Sharon Merkel/Special to The Morning Call) Show Caption1 of 4Looking west on Old Route 22/Main Street at the intersection with Haaf Road in Upper Macungie Township is the proposed site of a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical plant Eli Lilly plans to build, seen Thursday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Sharon Merkel/Special to The Morning Call) Expand One reason the Lehigh Valley won the project, Cunningham said, was the future interchange planned for I-78 at Adams Road, about 2 miles west of Route 100. Cunningham said landing the plant marks a successful effort to “close the pharmaceutical beltway” between suburban Philadelphia and northern New Jersey. “It’s been a strategic goal of ours to close that beltway loop,” he said. Lilly said it selected the Lehigh Valley site partly based on its proximity to STEM universities, its technical manufacturing economy and its existing infrastructure. In addition, “with increasing demand from the biotech industry, the region offers convenient access to utilities, transportation, and favorable zoning and incentives.” The Lehigh Valley has been attractive to the life sciences industry and houses more than 180 companies specializing in biotechnology, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, according to the LVEDC. Lilly will be joining other industry leaders including B. Braun Medical, Olympus Corp. of the Americas, OraSure Technologies, Sartorius and Piramal Pharma Solutions. Last year, B. Braun said it would invest $20 million to create 200 jobs at its plant near Lehigh Valley International Airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County. Education pipeline Lilly will receive $100 million in state investment, including $50 million in tax credits through the PA Edge Tax Credit Program, a $25 million grant through the Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites Program, and a $25 million Pennsylvania First grant. The state is also providing an award of up to $5 million through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to Lehigh Carbon Community College to help create a workforce development training program that would serve as a talent pipeline for the company. “Lilly is in a partnership with Lehigh Carbon Community College around the buildout of a training center,” Cunningham said. “These are new skill sets and new jobs that the Valley hasn’t traditionally had.” He added that LCCC has connected with Wake Tech in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina to build out a curriculum and equipment so workers can be trained on the exact equipment used in the plant. Lilly manufactures and distributes products through facilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia. It was established in 1876 by Col. Eli Lilly and was an early mass producer of insulin and the polio vaccine. Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected]. ...read more read less