Eli Lilly Jobs and Investment – Cork and Limerick
Established: Eli Lilly’s Kinsale Manufacturing operations are located in Dunderrow Co. Cork. Productions commenced at this facility in 1981.
Jobs in Eli Lilly: Eli Lilly as of 2021 employ approx 900 staff and a contract workforce of about 500 people.
The Kinsale site is engaged in three main business activities:
SMALL MOLECULE ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENT (API) MANUFACTURE & SUPPLY
Small molecules are manufactured using chemical synthesis technologies and this was at the heart of the Kinsale site’s initial manufacturing mission.
BIOPHARMACEUTICAL COMMERCIALISATION AND SUPPLY
In 2006, Lilly announced that Kinsale would become the main centre for the manufacture and supply of active ingredients for its new biopharmaceutical medicines. To support this changing mission, a significant investment in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and commercialisation facilities was made and operations commenced in 2011.
Investment: Lilly has invested over €800m in new manufacturing and support facilities at the Kinsale site over the past decade, this has ensured that the site’s state-of-the-art facilities are very well equipped to deliver Lilly’s innovative new product pipeline.
SMALL MOLECULE COMMERCIALISATION
More recently, Kinsale has become a centre for synthetic Small Molecule API commercialisation. In collaboration with Eli Lilly’s US based Chemical Product Research and Development colleagues, the Kinsale site is involved in late phase product development and optimisation.
Investment in Raheen: In 2023, Lilly announced a €927 million investment for a state-of-the-art API Biologics facility in Raheen, Limerick. This design includes bioprocessing upstream and downstream as well as associated support areas and utilities. This facility will take advantage of single use systems to deliver a state-of-the-art facility incorporating new technologies to support Eli Lilly’s rapidly expanding monoclonal portfolio with a specific focus on operational flexibility, environmental sustainability and fast-track delivery concepts.
The facility will include with the following: 4-storey Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing building with roof-mounted plant/equipment & solar panels, laboratory and administration building, a 2-storey warehouse building, a single storey Central Utilities Plant (CUP) building including 5 boiler stacks. A 2-storey freezer building and a single storey maintenance building. Equipment started to arrive on site in early 2024, with C&Q beginning in Q1 which will continue through to late 2024. Manufacturing is expected to begin in Q3 of 2025.
