Eli Lilly and Company broke ground on its $6.5 billion Houston manufacturing facility, another major milestone in the region’s growing biopharma sector.
The 236-acre facility will produce Foundayo, Lilly’s new oral GLP-1 weight-loss treatment and other active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Lilly also announced a new $15 million workforce collaboration with San Jacinto College (SJC). The company will invest $12.5 million to support a training program in advanced chemical synthesis manufacturing, with another $2.5 million going to the SJC endowment to fund scholarships.
Why Are Biopharma Companies Choosing Houston?
In less than a year, Eli Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb have committed nearly $9 billion to build manufacturing facilities at Generation Park, a 4,300-acre master-planned development in northeast Houston.
GET THE DETAILS: Houston Wins Texas’ First Major Pharma Plant With $6.5B Investment
These aren’t one-off wins. They reflect years of regional work to strengthen the workforce, infrastructure and life sciences ecosystem needed to support biomanufacturing at scale and compete for projects that have historically gone to more established markets.
Bristol Myers Squibb cited those strengths when announcing its investment in Houston.
“Houston and the state of Texas offer the talent, infrastructure, and partnership needed to help bring that vision to life,” Christopher Boerner, Bristol Myers Squibb Board Chair and CEO, said.
That momentum is also gaining national attention. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News recently named Houston No. 1 on its list of the nation’s top emerging biopharma clusters.
Learn more about Houston’s life sciences and biotech ecosystem by connecting with the Partnership’s Global Life Sciences Sr. Director Verena Kallhoff.
Houston’s Growing Life Sciences Ecosystem
Houston has built a growing biomanufacturing base over the past decade. Germany-founded Immatics established its U.S. operations in Houston in 2015 and later expanded with an R&D and GMP manufacturing center in Stafford, where it manufactures T-cell therapies to treat cancer. Switzerland-based Lonza followed in 2018 with a cell and gene therapy facility in Pearland.
Earlier this year, Lilly acquired Houston-based CrossBridge Bio, a biotech startup developing targeted cancer therapies, for up to $300 million. Sugar Land-based DeliverIt Group is also planning a nearly $12 million, 60,000-square-foot pharmaceutical manufacturing facility to produce sterile medications.
READ MORE: Eli Lilly to Acquire Houston Biotech Startup CrossBridge Bio
Supporting that growth is a life sciences ecosystem anchored by the Texas Medical Center. For much of its history, however, rules tied to TMC’s original land limited the campus to nonprofit medical care, education and research, restricting opportunities for private life sciences companies to operate alongside its institutions.
TMC Helix Park was created in part to bridge that gap. The 37-acre campus brings academic and industry partners together, creating more opportunities to move discoveries from the lab toward commercialization.
Building Houston’s Biomanufacturing Workforce
As Houston’s biomanufacturing sector grew, specialized talent became a critical need. San Jacinto College’s Center for Biotechnology at Generation Park is creating the talent pipeline companies need. The NIBRT-licensed training center — the only one in the southern U.S. — opened last year and was a key factor in Eli Lilly’s decision to choose Houston for its facility.
GET THE BACKSTORY: From Setback to Strategy: How San Jacinto College and Generation Park are Building Houston’s Biotech Workforce