Eli Lilly and Company has announced a $1.2 billion plan to expand and modernize its Lilly del Caribe manufacturing facility in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
This new investment aims to integrate advanced technologies and increase production capacity within the existing campus, supporting the company’s growing portfolio of solid medicines in cardiometabolic health, neuroscience, oncology, and immunology.
Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations, stated that after 60 years, Lilly del Caribe continues to play a vital role in developing life-changing medicines for people in the United States and around the world.
The upcoming expansion will introduce highly advanced technologies in solid medicine manufacturing, dock-to-dock automation, paperless manufacturing, and process analytical technology, positioning the site as a strategic hub for advanced manufacturing and national economic security.
Additionally, the company plans to create 1,100 new jobs in construction and high-tech manufacturing.
A short video posted on X (formerly Twitter) shows Marcie Bonilla, an operator in Lilly del Caribe’s Capsules unit.
Marcie expresses her pride in being connected to the company’s 60-year legacy in Puerto Rico and passing it on to her family.
Joseph Bonilla, Marcie’s nephew and a senior associate in the human resources division, shares that he is proud to continue Marcie’s legacy, highlighting that the company is an excellent place for growth with long-term expectations.
Marcie adds that their work is helping to change people’s lives.
In a separate short video released on YouTube, Nvidia announced its collaboration with Eli Lilly, contributing cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) models, data, and tools to Lilly Tune Lab, a federated platform that enables startups to accelerate innovation.
This video emphasizes Lilly’s commitment to integrating science and technology over the past century, showcasing pharmaceutical industry milestones such as the discovery of insulin, the first lifesaving medicine produced at scale, and the pioneering use of supercomputing for medical advancements.
Titled “Biomedical Intelligence at Scale with Lilly’s AI Factory,” the video illustrates how Lilly is continuing this innovative trajectory with Nvidia’s partnership to build the biopharma industry’s most powerful AI factory.
Nvidia describes it as more than just a factory; it is a new scientific instrument that enhances humanity’s understanding of biology, navigates potential molecules, and shapes future therapies.
Powered by Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture, this AI factory will expedite the development of breakthrough foundation models that can understand and simulate biological processes, explore the vast potential of molecules as medicines, and optimize clinical development.
Eli Lilly is creating the biopharma industry’s most powerful AI factory on the world’s first DGX B300 SuperPOD, which features over 1,000 Blackwell GPUs.
Accelerated by Nvidia’s comprehensive suite of AI software and open models, the platform will facilitate drug discovery, design, clinical development, and manufacturing.
According to a blog post, this AI factory, equipped with 1,016 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra GPUs, is entirely owned and operated by the medical pioneer.
The AI factory is set to shorten drug discovery timelines and accelerate breakthroughs in genomics, personalized medicine, and molecular design at an industrial scale.
Select models will be available on Lilly TuneLab, an AI and machine-learning platform that grants biotech companies access to drug discovery models built on $1 billion worth of Lilly’s proprietary data.
TuneLab is now the first drug discovery platform to offer both Lilly models and Nvidia Clara Open Foundation models for healthcare and life sciences, further expanding AI access for the biotech ecosystem.