Eli Lilly starts $6.5B plant as Foundayo gains share

Eli Lilly broke ground on Monday on a $6.5 billion manufacturing facility in Houston to boost supply of Foundayo, its oral obesity treatment. Chair and CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC that about one-third of new patients starting a GLP-1 tablet are now choosing Foundayo, with market share expanding weekly. Shares of the drugmaker rose 1% following the update.

The new plant covers roughly 240 acres at Generation Park in Houston and is scheduled to begin operations in 2030. Besides producing Foundayo, the site will manufacture active ingredients for small-molecule therapies in cardiometabolic conditions, cancer, immunology, and neuroscience. The project is part of a broader push to onshore production, following a $27 billion commitment made in February 2025 across four U.S. plants.

Foundayo reached U.S. pharmacies in April and posted $98 million in sales during its first full quarter. Novo Nordisk generated between $494 million and $497 million over the same stretch with its competing Wegovy pill. Unlike peptide options, Foundayo is a once-daily, non-peptide GLP-1 receptor agonist that requires no fasting or water restrictions.

Eli Lilly plans to launch Foundayo in international markets in the coming months. Access to the tablet and the injectable treatment Zepbound is also expected to widen following the rollout of Medicare coverage for obesity medications in July.