Eli Lilly builds plant for weight loss syringe in Alzey
The most valuable listed healthcare group wants to build a new plant in Rhineland-Palatinate without any tax incentives. In a few years' time, the billion-euro market for weight loss drugs is to be served from there.
The US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly wants to invest billions in a new plant in Alzey, Rhineland-Palatinate. The high-tech factory is due to go into operation in 2027 and will produce injectable drugs to meet the growing demand for new diabetes drugs such as Mounjaro, as the company explained in Berlin. With the necessary approval in the EU, Mounjaro could then also be used here as a weight loss injection to combat obesity. Up to 1,000 jobs for highly qualified specialists are to be created permanently, with an additional 1,900 jobs during construction from 2024.
According to the information provided, the investment amounts to around 2.3 billion euros. In contrast to other large-scale projects, such as chip manufacturers in eastern Germany, Lilly does not require any public subsidies and therefore no German taxpayers' money, said Economics Minister Robert Habeck. "This investment strengthens the German government in its efforts to make Germany more attractive again as a pharmaceutical location," emphasized Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.
The US company, which has been present in Germany since 1960, already employs around 1000 people in this country, mainly in Bad Homburg in Hesse. According to the company, the new plant in Alzey will be the sixth production site in Europe and will work closely with an existing plant near Strasbourg in France. Lilly is headquartered in Indianapolis in the US state of Indiana. With a market value of around 560 billion dollars, Lilly is the most valuable listed healthcare group in the world. According to the Group, turnover in Germany amounted to 905 million euros in 2022.
The decision to invest in Germany and Alzey was made due to the infrastructure and highly skilled workforce, it said. Lilly is also planning to invest up to 100 million dollars in the start-up ecosystem of Germany's life science and biotech industry.
No decision on cost coverage by health insurance companies
Lilly's promising drug Mounjaro has been approved as a diabetes treatment in the USA and Europe. The pharmaceutical company has also received approval for the drug from the US Food and Drug Administration as a weight loss injection. This is marketed under the name Zepbound and is a competitor product to Wegovy from the Danish company Novo Nordisk. In the EU, the extended use of Mounjaro against morbid obesity was recommended by the regulator for approval by the EU Commission. However, this is still pending.
The market is extremely lucrative. A real hype has arisen around the extremely effective weight loss injections, which were originally developed to treat high blood sugar. The Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, for example, has enjoyed great success with its drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, which contain the active ingredient semaglutide. Ozempic is prescribed to people with diabetes, Wegovy is specifically approved as a weight loss drug and is sold at a significantly higher price. Thanks to these drugs, Novo Nordisk became the most valuable company in Europe at the beginning of September. When asked whether there were any considerations as to whether statutory health insurance companies in Germany could reimburse weight loss medication in the future, Lauterbach said: "We haven't looked into this at the moment."
The Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies explained that every euro of pharmaceutical production generates a further two euros of added value in other areas. "Every pharmaceutical job creates more than twice as many additional upstream and downstream jobs," said association president Han Steutel. Meanwhile, Rhineland-Palatinate is strengthening its importance as a biotech and pharmaceutical cluster in Germany with companies such as Biontech in Mainz and Boehringer in Ingelheim.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz had repeatedly emphasized that the federal government wanted to improve the opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to use anonymized patient data. A new pharmaceutical research law is planned for this purpose. A pharmaceutical summit with Chancellor Scholz and representatives of the industry is also to take place this year.
- Novo Nordisk, another prominent player in the pharmaceutical industry, has seen success with its weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, featuring the active ingredient semaglutide.
- Despite the potential for reimbursement, German Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has not yet considered whether statutory health insurance companies could cover weight loss medication costs.
- Robert Habeck, German Economics Minister, praised Eli Lilly's decision to invest in Alzey, Rhineland-Palatinate, as it strengthens Germany's standing as an attractive location for the pharmaceutical industry, similar to the successful operations of companies like Novo Nordisk.
Source: www.ntv.de
