Eli Lilly Completes Final Phase of Biotechnology Expansion

Indianapolis, IN (May 12)-Eli Lilly completed the final and largest phase of a major biotechnology expansion in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The company dedicated a 475,000-ft² bioproduct research and development laboratory that will house 500 scientists and research-support staff in molecular and cell biology, analytical science, and engineering.

The final phase marks the completion of the third of three facilities that make up Lilly's biotechnology complex in Indianapolis. The first phase of construction, completed in October 2006, was a 250,000-ft² bioproduct pilot-manufacturing plant. The second phase, also opened in the fall of 2006, was a 10,000-ft² research-support facility that houses support-staff members. The construction of the three buildings in Indianapolis, along with Lilly's 2004 acquisition of Applied Molecular Evolution (San Diego, CA), a specialist in protein optimization research, accounts for a total biotechnology capital investment of approximately $1 billion. In April 2008, Lilly also broke ground for a € 400-million ($618-million) biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Kinsale, Ireland.

Biotechnology drugs account for approximately 30% (eight drugs) of Lilly's total drug portfolio and represent about $4.4 billion of the company's 2007 sales. Biotechnology medicines accounted for one-third of the company's drug pipeline at the end of 2007.