To help meet the heightened demand for its injectable products, Eli Lilly is acquiring a facility from Nexus Pharmaceuticals, with production anticipated to start at the end of next year.
Lilly will take on a manufacturing site in Pleasant Prairie, WI, along with its workers for an undisclosed amount. The 84,000 square-foot building opened in 2021, and commercial production started in 2023, with Nexus spending over $100 million on the facility, according to Nexus’ website.
The facility has manufacturing and packaging capabilities, as well as analytical, environmental and microbial testing for sterile injectables. Nexus does not undertake any contract manufacturing for other companies, so the build will be fully dedicated to Lilly, according to a Monday press release.
Lilly’s blockbuster GLP-1 drugs are in tight supply. Nearly all doses of its diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight loss drug Zepbound are in shortage. Lilly’s direct competitor, Novo Nordisk, is similarly acting on supply bottlenecks for its GLP-1 drugs.
The race is on to boost GLP-1 manufacturing, with Lilly making moves to expand its production footprint. Most recently, it announced in November it is allocating $2.5 billion for a new site in Germany.
On the other hand, Novo is set to absorb three of Catalent’s manufacturing sites. It has previously said it will keep API manufacturing internally but is open to outsourcing fill-finish manufacturing to third parties.