GLP-1 Drugs Drive Pharma Construction Wave

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Written by Eric Funderburk for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

GLP-1 drug production is driving billions of dollars' worth of pharmaceutical industry construction spending in the U.S. and the world.

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A Big Market

The development and use of GLP-1 drugs to aid weight loss has been the biggest thing to hit the Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry for some time. According to Industrial Info Resources data, GLP-1 drug production is driving billions of dollars' worth of construction in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Showing the extent of GLP-1 adoption in the U.S., the results of a Gallup News poll published in July found that the amount of U.S. adults taking GLP-1 drugs for weight loss purposes has risen to 11% in 2026, up from 3% in 2024. Fifteen percent of Americans reported using the drugs for weight loss at some point in their lives. The rapid adoption is even having a knock-on effect on the food and grocery sector, with a recent study led by Cornell University indicating that households with at least one GLP-1 user saw a 6% reduction in grocery bills within six months.

The makers of GLP-1 drugs, particularly the blockbusters that have nearly become household names, are putting their investment dollars to work at new and expanded plants both in and out of the U.S., accounting for billions of dollars' worth construction spending. While injectables continue to drive construction in a big way, so are the more recently developed oral GLP-1 doses in pill form.

Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk's Ozempic opened the door for GLP-1's used for weight loss and the company's popular Wegovy has gained prominence along with it. Novo Nordisk's U.S. manufacturing base is in Clayton, North Carolina, just on the edge of the state's famed Research Triangle, where it has had a presence since 1993. In 2020, Novo Nordisk completed a $2 billion expansion to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) at the site, with an emphasis on insulin products. Industrial Info Resources reported on the project from 2015, before construction began, through its completion.

To expand its GLP-1 drug development, Novo Nordisk is now pouring another $4.1 billion into the Clayton campus, with its Ozempic and Wegovy offerings squarely in its sites. The massive project will roughly double Novo Nordisk's square footage in the state with 1.4 million square feet of additional building space. Readers can access details of the project, including construction timelines, key contact details, and equipment and service needs, by clicking here.

Serving a similar fill-finish purpose for Wegovy and Ozempic, in a 2024 deal worth $11 billion, Novo Nordisk acquired Catalent, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with which the company already had ties, and its three fill-finish sites, including a plant in Bloomington, Indiana, and outside the U.S. in Anagni, Italy, and Brussels, Belgium.

Eli Lilly & Company

Already pouring billions of dollars into its campus in Lebanon, Indiana, Eli Lilly decided to further increase its investment as use of its tirzepatide GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound took off. According to Industrial Info Resources, Lilly is investing more than $13 billion in the site, which is inclusive of development and production of a larger range of products in addition to GLP-1s, although these feature prominently in its plans.

Even more related Eli Lilly projects are on the books--some with an emphasis on the company's up-and-coming oral orforglipron GLP-1 medication. Major orforglipron-related projects are on the books for Houston, Texas, where the company will produce small-molecule APIs for the GLP-1 oral drugs still needing regulatory authorization. Another project aimed at Lilly's oral-dose GLP-1 doses just broke ground in Puerto Rico, where a building addition is expected to begin contributing to oral-dose GLP-1 production in 2029. A solar power array will accompany the facility.

The new orforglipron drugs are also part of the company's plans to invest $6 billion in a grassroot campus in Huntsville, Alabama.

Eli Lilly's better-established injectable GLP-1 drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro--essentially the same drug, with Zepbound labeled specifically for weight loss and Mounjaro targeting diabetes, are a big part of the reason for a new seven-building campus in Fogelsville, in eastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley region, although its experimental weight-loss drug retatrutide, targeting additional pathways to GLP-1 drugs, also plays into the plans.

Novo Nordisk & Eli Lilly Outside of the U.S.

While Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly of course make other drugs in addition to GLP-1s, these types of drugs are factoring into Novo Nordisk's US$9.1 billion worth of construction presently underway outside of the U.S., with more on the books. Novo Nordisk's home country Denmark, where most of its construction outside of the U.S. is occurring, has one of the highest GLP-1 adoption rates in Europe, at about 9%, according to market research firm YouGov.

Industrial Info Resources is tracking US$3.2 billion of Eli Lilly's international construction happening at the moment, with another US$3.7 billion in various stages of planning and engineering. One of Lilly's most notable upcoming construction projects an oral-dose GLP-1 plant in the Netherlands on which the company plans to drop more US$1.5 billion, with the possibility of doubling that investment in the future.

Key Takeaways

• GLP-1 drug production is driving billions of dollars of construction projects both inside and outside the U.S.
• Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly & Company represent two of the highest spenders in this area, thanks to blockbuster weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound.
• Up-and-coming oral dose GLP-1 drugs are gaining ground and driving new projects.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).