Eli Lilly, maker of weight loss drug Mounjaro, to contract manufacture in Telangana, promises $1 billion investment

The firm will ‘begin recruitment for Hyderabad location, with openings across roles such as engineers, chemists, analytical scientists, quality control and assurance professionals and management positions’

Written by Nikhila Henry

Hyderabad | Updated: October 7, 2025 02:33 AM IST

2 min read

Eli Lilly, maker of weight loss drug Mounjaro, to manufacture in Telangana, promises $1 billion investment

For Telangana, Lilly’s interest in the state is expected to come as a boost to its already thriving pharma sector. (File Photo)

US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly will invest $1 billion in new contract manufacturing in Telangana. The announcement, made on Monday, comes months after Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy inaugurated the company’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Hyderabad’s Gachibowli in August.

The firm’s interest in India comes at a time when President Donald Trump has warned of tariffs on pharma and branded drugs produced outside the US. All of Eli Lilly’s production would be branded drugs, including the popular weight loss drug Mounjaro.

For Telangana, Lilly’s interest in the state is expected to come as a boost to its already thriving pharma sector.

“Despite strong interest from several stations, Eli Lilly chose Telangana owing to a favourable ecosystem in terms of availability of highly skilled manpower, infrastructure and support from the government,” the CMO said in a release.

The company will invest in new medicines to treat diabetes, obesity and autoimmune conditions, Telangana authorities said. “It will begin recruitment immediately, with openings across roles such as engineers, chemists, analytical scientists, quality control and assurance professionals and management positions,” the release read.

Industries Minister Sridhar Babu said that Lilly’s expansion in Hyderabad is a “testament to Telangana’s dynamic industrial landscape and its growing influence in advanced healthcare manufacturing”.

Patrik Jonsson, executive vice president of Eli Lilly and Company and president of Lilly International, said, “This investment reaffirms the company’s confidence in India as a hub for capability building within our global network.”

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Reddy said that “Indira Gandhi’s initiative in establishing IDPL in Hyderabad in 1965 is the reason why Hyderabad stands as a hub for bulk drug manufacturing”.

“Hyderabad was also at the epicentre of Covid vaccine manufacturing at the global stage,” he said. “Telangana means business. Hyderabad is a global city. Our government will support and welcome all industries looking to invest here.”

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