Eli Lilly and Company will invest $3.5 billion to build its first Pennsylvania manufacturing campus in the Fogelsville section of Upper Macungie Township, the largest single economic development project in Lehigh Valley history and the largest life sciences investment in the state’s history.
The pharmaceutical giant announced the project on January 30, 2026, at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, with Gov. Josh Shapiro, Lilly CEO David A. Ricks and regional officials on hand. The 925,000-square-foot campus, planned across multiple buildings near Interstate 78, will manufacture next-generation injectable weight-loss medicines and is expected to create 850 permanent jobs over five years, plus roughly 2,000 construction jobs during the build.
What Lilly Is Building
Lilly plans to develop the campus at the Fogelsville Corporate Center on Main Street, also known as Old U.S. 22, on currently undeveloped agricultural land near Adams Road and I-78. The company describes the site as a new injectable medicine and device manufacturing facility, its first such operation in Pennsylvania.
According to Lilly’s announcement, the plant will produce next-generation weight-loss therapies, including retatrutide, which the company describes as “a first-in-class investigational GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon triple hormone receptor agonist.” The medicine is still being studied and is not yet available to the public.
The Fogelsville campus is part of a much larger national expansion. Lilly says it has committed more than $50 billion to capital expansion since 2020, with the Pennsylvania project counting as one of several new U.S. manufacturing sites announced in recent years alongside locations in Indiana, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Alabama.
Jobs and Economic Impact
The project is expected to bring 850 permanent positions to the region over five years, spanning engineers, scientists, operations personnel and lab technicians. Officials have said the permanent roles are expected to carry six-figure salaries. The construction phase is projected to support roughly 2,000 jobs.
Local economic development leaders have framed the investment as transformational for a region long defined by Bethlehem Steel and, more recently, by warehousing and logistics. The permanent jobs are expected to phase in over the five-year ramp as buildings come online.
$3.5 billion private-sector investment
850 permanent jobs over five years
Roughly 2,000 construction jobs during the build
925,000 square feet across multiple buildings
Lilly has also pointed to a broader ripple effect, with the company citing an estimate that for every dollar it spends, about four dollars circulate through the surrounding community in spillover economic activity.
How the Lehigh Valley Won
The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. said the region competed against more than 300 locations across the country to land the project. In choosing the area, Lilly cited the Lehigh Valley’s location within a day’s drive of roughly one-third of the U.S. population.
Don Cunningham, president and CEO of LVEDC, cast the announcement as the start of a new era for a region with a deep manufacturing heritage. “Today, Eli Lilly and Company write the first page of a new chapter, the era of life sciences, in the Lehigh Valley’s proud history of making things in America,” Cunningham said.
State officials emphasized Pennsylvania’s competitiveness in attracting major employers. “Before I took office, Pennsylvania wasn’t even in the conversation for major investments like this, but thanks to our work to cut red tape, invest in site development, and expand our workforce, our Commonwealth is now competing, and winning, on a national scale,” Gov. Shapiro said.
State Incentives
To help secure the project, the Commonwealth committed roughly $100 million in support, according to the governor’s office. The package includes:
Up to $50 million in PA Edge Tax Credit Program funds
A $25 million grant through the PA SITES (Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites) Program
A $25 million Pennsylvania First grant
Up to $5 million through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program for workforce training
Assistance through the PA Permit Fast Track Program
Timeline and Next Steps
Lilly expects construction to begin in 2026, with the facility projected to be operational in 2031. The project still requires local government approvals before work can move forward, and it will be reviewed through Upper Macungie Township’s land development process.
For residents, the announcement has drawn a mix of enthusiasm over high-paying jobs and questions about increased traffic and the loss of open space on what is now farmland. Officials have pointed to workforce development opportunities, including biotechnology training programs at local community colleges, as a way to connect Lehigh Valley residents to the new positions. In August 2026 the state awarded Lehigh Carbon Community College a $5 million grant to build that training pipeline.
A Presidential Spotlight
The project drew national attention on June 23, 2026, when President Donald Trump highlighted it during a visit to the Mack Trucks plant in Lower Macungie Township, just miles from the planned Lilly campus. “Eli Lilly has just announced, great company, by the way, drug company, a $3.5 billion investment in a brand-new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility right down the road that’s going to create over a thousand jobs,” Trump said, according to a Fox Business report. Lilly itself has put the figure at 850 permanent jobs, plus roughly 2,000 construction jobs during the build.
Speaking in the heart of the Lehigh Valley, Trump used the stop to tout manufacturing momentum in Pennsylvania, claiming the state had added more than 32,000 jobs and 2,600 manufacturing jobs in recent months, with more to come “as the factories start to open.” He pointed to two other recent Lehigh Valley investments, Nokia’s $30 million semiconductor expansion and B. Braun’s $20 million medical-device expansion, as further evidence of the trend.
Why It Matters
Speaking at the Allentown announcement, Ricks struck a neighborly tone about the company’s arrival. “I just want to say how honored we are to be a part of your community, to join your community,” he said. “I promise we’ll be a good neighbor.”
For the Lehigh Valley, the project marks a notable shift in the region’s economic identity, adding large-scale pharmaceutical production to a growing life sciences sector and giving the area a marquee name in an industry tied to some of the most in-demand medicines in the country.
Eli Lilly Fogelsville Campus at a Glance
Investment: $3.5 billion private-sector, plus about $100 million in state support
Location: Fogelsville Corporate Center, Upper Macungie Township, near I-78
Size: 925,000 square feet across multiple buildings
Jobs: 850 permanent positions over five years; about 2,000 construction jobs
Product: Injectable next-generation weight-loss medicines, including retatrutide
Timeline: Construction beginning 2026, operations expected in 2031
Significance: Lilly’s first Pennsylvania plant and the largest economic development project in Lehigh Valley history
Recent spotlight: Cited by President Trump during a June 23, 2026 visit to Mack Trucks in Lower Macungie Township
