The overview
Lilly officials said the site will bring 615 jobs to the area, including positions for engineers, scientists and lab technicians.
Generation Park, a 4,300-acre master-planned community in northeast Houston, was selected through an application process based on criteria including workforce potential, local incentives, access to utilities and transportation, and a favorable business environment.
Lilly officials also said they expect to create 4,000 construction jobs in the area as the site build takes off.
“I think our site will change the face of the northeast side of Houston ... but [Lilly] will also change lives of families of people who come work for us. These are high-quality jobs, high-paying jobs,” David Ricks, Eli Lilly and Company chair and CEO, said at the conference. “$6.5 billion is what we’ll spend [for] over $25 billion of economic impact ... here in Texas."
For every dollar Lilly spends in the area, the company estimates up to an additional $4 in local economic stimulation, Lilly officials said in a Sept. 23 news release. The release also states that for every job created in manufacturing, several more will be created in related sectors such as supply chain, logistics and retail.
“Texas is stepping up to ensure that we do our part and expand biomedical manufacturing right here in our great state,” Gov. Greg Abbott said at the conference.
What you need to know
Lilly, which produces medicines such as Mounjaro, Zepbound and Ebglyss, will focus the new facility on manufacturing small molecule medicines. According to the news release, the products manufactured will be used in fields including cardiometabolic health, oncology, immunology and neuroscience.
The site at Generation Park will manufacture Orforglipron, an investigational, once-daily oral GLP-1 medication being studied for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes and obesity, which the company expects to submit to global regulatory agencies for obesity by the end of this year, per the release.
“It will help for tens of millions of people around the world with chronic conditions caused by obesity,” Ricks said.
The 236-acre site will include machine learning, artificial intelligence and digitally integrated systems. Site head for Lilly Houston, Diane Tennenhouse, said the site is not a direct replication of any of the company’s other facilities.
“This is built for the future,” Tennenhouse said at the conference. “We’re actively seeking folks with a safety-first mindset, dedicated to quality.”
Lilly’s new facility is coming as McCord Development officials continue their push to brand Generation Park as a premier life sciences hub in Houston, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
In 2023, McCord unveiled its plans for its 60-acre master-planned biomanufacturing campus, dubbed BioHub Two.
According to a March 2025 Cushman & Wakefield life sciences report, the Houston market currently ranks No. 14 nationwide for total employment in life sciences.
Additionally, the report projects the Houston area’s life sciences employment rate to grow by 76.5% over the next 10 years.
Owen Rock, executive vice president of economic development for Partnership Lake Houston, an area chamber of commerce and economic development firm, said he believes Lilly’s new facility will jump-start Generation Park’s vision as a life sciences hub in the Houston metro.
“It brings major investment from a global player, hundreds of high-wage jobs and attracts more biotech companies,” Rock said.
Rock said the timing of the announcement for Lilly’s new facility fell in line with the Sept. 26 opening of the San Jacinto College Center for Biotechnology.
Along with Lone Star College, Rock said he believes the schools will help provide a talent pipeline of potential biotech employees.
“Students will gain access to training and opportunities that prepare them for these roles right here at home,” Rock said.
- 94% of life sciences CEOs say they will increase headcount over the next three years.
- 37% of life sciences CEOs think they will grow their workforce by 6% or more.
- 10,700 employees were added by biotech research and development companies from January 2024 to October 2024.
In February, Lilly announced its plans to build four new pharmaceutical manufacturing sites around the country. Along with its Houston location, the company recently announced it would build a site in Virginia and said it has plans to announce two other locations this year.
According to a tax incentive application posted on the Texas Comptroller’s website, among the more than 600 full-time employees the project is expected to employ will be positions such as:
- Operations technicians
- Engineers
- Scientists
- Administrators
