Eli Lilly has announced plans to invest a cumulative USD 3 billion over the next decade to significantly expand its manufacturing and supply chain capacity in China. A key focus of the investment is to establish local production capabilities for its oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, orforglipron, for which China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) accepted a new drug application (NDA) in January 2026. The investment will leverage a combination of internal expansion and external partnerships with domestic contract manufacturers.

As a core part of this strategy, Lilly has entered a strategic collaboration with Pharmaron, with an expected initial investment of USD 200 million to support the CDMO's technical capacity building. This follows recent investments in Lilly's Suzhou plant and the establishment of innovation incubators in Beijing and Shanghai. The company's cumulative investment in China now approaches USD 6 billion, underscoring its long-term commitment to the market and its strategy to address unmet medical needs in cardiometabolic diseases, neuroscience, oncology and immunology.

According to PharmCube's TrialiCube™ database, Lilly's Phase III trial activity in China remains low compared to other Big Pharma companies. Click here to request a free trial for TrialiCube™.