A global life sciences leader has made a historic investment in Pennsylvania.
PA Chamber Investor Member Eli Lilly and Company announced plans last week to invest $3.5 billion in the building of a new, state‑of‑the‑art pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Lehigh County. PA Chamber President and CEO Luke Bernstein was among the guests invited to attend the announcement in Allentown featuring Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks and Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The project is the largest life sciences investment in Pennsylvania history and is expected to create at least 850 new good paying jobs over the next five years, with additional positive economic impacts across the region.
This decision is yet another investment that showcases the Commonwealth’s growing dominance as an investment hub, and as a national destination for life sciences manufacturing and innovation. It will be Eli Lilly’s first manufacturing facility in the Commonwealth, supporting the production of next-generation medicines and expanding Lilly’s U.S.-based manufacturing footprint.
Pennsylvania’s key assets, including our state’s deep talent pool and work ethic, strong research institutions, and existing pharmaceutical and biotech clusters- are helping to position Pennsylvania as a serious contender for these critical 21st century projects. According to Moody’s Analytics, the Commonwealth is the only state in the Northeast with a growing economy; and Pennsylvania ranked 11th in Site Selection magazine’s most recent Business Climate rankings.
Eli Lilly’s project follows a trend of other major life sciences companies choosing Pennsylvania – including GSK, B.Braun, and others. Projects of this scale are another indicator that PA Chamber-led public policy work, including modernizing the tax code and streamlining permitting (which you can read more about here) are improving Pennsylvania’s business climate and positioning the Commonwealth for success.