Pharmaceutical company Lilly has announced an extraordinary investment to strengthen its presence in Spain. The objective will be to increase the capacities of its plant in Alcobendas (Madrid) for conditioning and packaging dry mouth products and injectable devices. The project involves adopting new technologies to facilitate advanced data integration and automated material flows in the production areas.

As explained by the US company’s Executive Vice President and President of Global Manufacturing Operations, Edgardo Hernández, the planned investment is $175 million. This transaction will also generate 75 new jobs, which will be added to the 1,200 jobs the company already has in Spain.

Growing demand
According to Hernández, “This investment will support the launches and subsequent supply of the company’s global drug pipeline in the face of growing demand, especially in the areas of diabetes and obesity, and reaffirms Lilly’s commitment to the patients who depend on our innovative medicines”.

The current investment is part of a programme that Lilly has been rolling out since 2020 and it has mobilised more than $55 billion for the construction, expansion and acquisition of manufacturing facilities around the world.

Innovative medicines
As Christina Vega, President of Lilly Spain, Portugal and Greece, explained, “Here in Spain, we are proud to research, produce and distribute Lilly’s innovative medicines; reaching patients in over 120 countries. Our commitment helps drive economic growth, creates highly skilled jobs and fosters important relationships with research centres and universities, favouring joint progress in understanding diseases not only in the Madrid region, but also in the rest of Spain.

Vega emphasised that, “This has been made possible by the favourable environment for innovation and industrial development. Europe plays a key role in the global research, manufacture and supply of medicines. While countries like Spain have seized the opportunity to attract our industry, Europe as a whole needs to remove barriers to patients’ access to medicines and act urgently to adopt innovation-friendly policies for the future.”

Lilly started its Spanish operations in 1963 and inaugurated its Alcobendas plant in 1968. From there, it exports medicines to over 120 countries around the world. These facilities also include an R&D centre, consisting of the Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory and the Biology Laboratory, in addition to its office building.

^{Photo: Lilly}