Evergreen Youth Secrets
  • Health News
  • Health Care
  • Staying Healthy
  • Beauty Advices
  • Health News
  • Health Care
  • Staying Healthy
  • Beauty Advices
No Result
View All Result
Evergreen Youth Secrets
No Result
View All Result
Home Health Care

Zepbound maker Eli Lilly announces $27 billion investment in US drug manufacturing as Trump threatens tariffs

by
February 26, 2025
in Health Care
0
Zepbound maker Eli Lilly announces $27 billion investment in US drug manufacturing as Trump threatens tariffs

Eli Lilly, the maker of blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro, said it will invest an additional $27 billion to build four new manufacturing plants in the United States, shoring up domestic manufacturing as President Donald Trump threatens new tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

Three of the sites will make active pharmaceutical ingredients, the foundational materials of medicines, while the fourth will make injectable products, the Indianapolis-based drug giant said Wednesday.

Trump said this month that he planned to impose tariffs of about 25% on goods including pharmaceuticals starting as early as April 2, and he warned drug industry executives in a private meeting last week that they should move production to the US, according to Bloomberg News. This week, Apple said it would invest $500 billion to expand US facilities after Trump announced 10% tariffs on imports from China.

“If the wishes of this administration come true, you could see where most industries will need to reshore a lot of investment,” said Ricks, who attended last week’s meeting with the president. “We’re trying to do this quickly, because I think there will be constraints in everything from supply chain of building materials to energy.”

Ricks emphasized that the plan to build so many new plants in the US relies on renewal of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted in Trump’s first term, which lowered the corporate tax rate in the US to 21% from 35%.

If those policies aren’t extended, he said, “We’d have to re-look at the whole thing.”

Increasing US manufacturing of pharmaceuticals emerged as a more urgent priority during the Covid-19 pandemic as supply disruptions and concerns about access to crucial medicines laid bare the vulnerability of relying on imports from other countries.

Still, much of that reliance – in particular, on China and India – is for generic medicines, Ricks pointed out, noting that Lilly doesn’t make those drugs. The new plants will largely support new medicines, including future drugs in the same class as Zepbound and Mounjaro as well as medicines for cancer, immunology and neuroscience, Ricks said.

“That said,” he added, “it’s dangerous for our country to have offshored production for whole types of technology like small-molecule synthesis, which is really not happening in our country at all anymore.”

Small-molecule drugs typically include oral tablets, using chemistry for manufacturing.

“Lilly here, now, will have three massive plants,” he said. “So in a time of a pandemic or something like that, could we repurpose it? Sure.”

It’s not determined where the new plants, which are expected to start making medicines within five years, will be; Lilly said it’s in negotiations with several states and welcomes expressions of interest until March 12. The company estimates that the plants will create 13,000 jobs in manufacturing and construction.

They add to the US manufacturing sites Lilly’s built since 2020, with commitments to invest a total of $50 billion with Wednesday’s pledge. The company has been rapidly working to increase manufacturing capacity to meet outsized demand for Zepbound and Mounjaro, which – along with competitor drugs in the GLP-1 class, Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy – spent two years in shortage.

“Right now, for good or bad, we’re running our plants globally 24/7, 365,” Ricks said. “There’s not a single hour of any day that every machine isn’t working at Lilly right now, and that’s not a sustainable thing for our teams and for doing the right scheduled maintenance and those sorts of things, but we’re keeping up with runaway demand.”

Ricks said “next-generation projects” aim to build on the weight-loss success of Zepbound, including a pill in development called orforglipron that’s expected to have results from a late-stage clinical trial “in the next three months or so” and a medicine called retatrutide that Ricks called “sort of the next super weight-loss drug from Lilly.”

Used by millions of Americans, approved medicines in the class have revolutionized the way doctors approach weight loss, something Ricks pointed to as a way to help meet the Make America Healthy Again goals of the Trump administration and its health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“What could be more important than controlling obesity?” Ricks said. “It’s probably the single biggest lever that exists” for affecting health outcomes, “and we’re at the forefront of that.”

Nonetheless, Kennedy has sent mixed messages about his support for obesity medicines, saying in October that drugmakers sell them to Americans “because we’re so stupid and addicted to drugs.”

Asked about them during his confirmation hearings, Kennedy called them “miracle drugs” but said they shouldn’t be “the first front-line intervention for 6-year-olds, for whom they are currently” – a false statement, as the medicines approved for kids are cleared starting at age 12.

“I find him to ask good questions and be a good listener; I think he’s hungry for information,” Ricks said of his interactions with Kennedy. “We’ll push back when the science is clear and collaborate where we can. I think there’s a lot more of the second than the first, from my initial impressions.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com
Previous Post

RFK Jr. targets childhood psychiatric drugs; doctors push back

Next Post

First measles death is reported in the West Texas outbreak that’s infected more than 120 people

Next Post
First measles death is reported in the West Texas outbreak that’s infected more than 120 people

First measles death is reported in the West Texas outbreak that’s infected more than 120 people

Stay updated with the latest news, exclusive offers, and special promotions. Sign up now and be the first to know! As a member, you'll receive curated content, insider tips, and invitations to exclusive events. Don't miss out on being part of something special.

    Popular News

    A West Virginia prosecutor is warning women that a miscarriage could lead to criminal charges

    A West Virginia prosecutor is warning women that a miscarriage could lead to criminal charges

    June 6, 2025
    Kash Patel claims ‘breakthrough’ in Fauci COVID origins probe

    Kash Patel claims ‘breakthrough’ in Fauci COVID origins probe

    June 6, 2025
    Bird flu can live in raw milk for more than a week, study finds

    Bird flu can live in raw milk for more than a week, study finds

    June 6, 2025

    Trending

    Trump administration set to limit COVID-19 shot approvals to the elderly, highest-risk

    Trump administration set to limit COVID-19 shot approvals to the elderly, highest-risk

    May 20, 2025
    Majority of US adults say euthanasia should be ‘allowed by law’: Gallup

    Majority of US adults say euthanasia should be ‘allowed by law’: Gallup

    August 8, 2024
    Cassidy praises Kennedy for promoting measles vaccination amid outbreak

    Cassidy praises Kennedy for promoting measles vaccination amid outbreak

    April 13, 2025
    Few alarms over cases of drug-resistant COVID

    Few alarms over cases of drug-resistant COVID

    June 4, 2022

    Recent News

    A West Virginia prosecutor is warning women that a miscarriage could lead to criminal charges

    A West Virginia prosecutor is warning women that a miscarriage could lead to criminal charges

    June 6, 2025
    Kash Patel claims ‘breakthrough’ in Fauci COVID origins probe

    Kash Patel claims ‘breakthrough’ in Fauci COVID origins probe

    June 6, 2025

    Popular News

    • A West Virginia prosecutor is warning women that a miscarriage could lead to criminal charges
    • Kash Patel claims ‘breakthrough’ in Fauci COVID origins probe

    About Evergreen Youth Secrets

    • Contact us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Email Whitelisting

    Copyright © 2025 Evergreenyouthsecrets.com. All Rights Reserved.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Health News
    • Health Care
    • Staying Healthy
    • Beauty Advices

    Copyright © 2025 Evergreenyouthsecrets.com. All Rights Reserved.