HOUSTON – Before the State of Harris County address, Greater Houston Partnership President & Chief Executive Officer Steve Kean said, “We’ve got a big one coming. Going to invest billions of dollars.”
That news got KPRC 2 Investigates digging through records.
While this information has not been officially confirmed, we found a pharmaceutical giant that is betting billions on Houston’s future.
Eli Lilly plans to build a massive $5.9 billion campus that could change the landscape of Northeast Houston’s Generation Park.
“Thank you, Commissioner Ellis, for your work and for bringing them here,” Kean added that day.
Think of advanced labs, cutting-edge equipment, and all the infrastructure needed to power round-the-clock operations on 236 acres.
More than 600 full-time jobs could be brought to Houston once Eli Lilly’s campus is fully operational.
“600 employees, all making, on average, over $100,000 a year, putting us on the map.”
Documents filed with the Texas Comptroller show, “Positions include operations technicians, production specialists, maintenance support, quality control/assurance, engineering, administration, and management.”
This is welcoming news for our city’s growing life sciences hub and the skilled workers already in the area.
It’s not a surprise Eli Lilly is looking at Houston; we’re home to the Texas Medical Center. The largest medical complex in the world and widely considered one of the best places for health innovation anywhere in the world. We also have a growing life sciences hub, and we have plenty of skilled workers already in the area.
Plans show Eli Lilly wants to use the campus to produce ingredients for some of its in-demand medicines. While it’s not clear which medications those could be, the company is the producer of GLP-1 diabetes and weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. It also makes the insulin Humalog and the antidepressant Prozac.
Building in Houston expands Eli Lilly’s United States production at a time when its competitor, Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, announces 9,000 layoffs.
As discussions continue between Eli Lilly and Harris County leaders, the promise of hundreds of new jobs and what appears to be the biggest private single investment Houston has seen in years is encouraging news for our future.
The Greater Houston Partnership released the following statement regarding the project:
“The Greater Houston Partnership is aware of the pending project and has been actively involved in the process; however, we’re unable to comment or provide additional details at this time. What we can say is that Houston has all the ingredients to be an ideal location for life science companies to invest given our access to talent, robust infrastructure and favorable business climate. ”
Eli Lilly released the following statement:
"As announced in February, Lilly is actively evaluating manufacturing site locations throughout the U.S. to expand capacity to meet the growing demand for our current and future pipeline medicines across multiple therapeutic areas. Any future decisions will be shared at the appropriate time."
KPRC 2 has reached out to Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis for a comment as well. We will share those as we receive them.