INDIANAPOLIS, June 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and
Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced completion of a $90 million expansion of its Biotechnology Center
in San Diego, California.
Lilly's new space will help foster
and accelerate the discovery of medicines within the company's core
therapeutic areas of immunology, diabetes, oncology and
neurodegeneration, as well as the emerging area of pain.
"This year we announced a commitment to invest $850 million in our U.S. operations based on our
potential for growth and the company's long-standing investment in
the U.S. market," said David A.
Ricks, Lilly's chairman,
president and chief executive officer. "Today, as part of that
commitment, we are pleased to say our research footprint in
San Diego has been expanded."
About Lilly's Biotechnology
Center and the Company's Presence in San
Diego
The center features a new
technologically-advanced laboratory and an additional 180,000
square feet of working space, which is an increase of 145 percent
compared to the former facility. In addition to the center's
established presence in preclinical and clinical immunology
research, the new space allows for closer partnership between
Lilly experts in biotechnology,
discovery chemistry and research technologies while also fostering
external collaborations.
"Being in the San Diego area
for the last 13 years has been a game changer for us, specifically
in the arena of discovering medicines for hard-to-treat autoimmune
conditions," said Thomas F. Bumol,
Ph.D., senior vice president of biotechnology and immunology
research at Lilly. "With compounds
such as Taltz® (ixekizumab) for psoriasis, we've not
only provided patients with a new treatment option, but we've also
moved the needle for advancing science."
As a pioneer in automated organic synthesis, Lilly is creating the Lilly Life Science
Studio in San Diego. Building upon
Lilly's Automated Synthesis
Laboratory in Indianapolis, the
new facility will allow researchers across the globe to remotely
design, synthesize and screen investigational molecules in an
unprecedented manner. Using the power of automation, the Lilly Life
Sciences Studio will shape the next generation of drug discovery
and expand the reach of individual scientists to test new ideas,
while reducing the cost and minimizing the environmental impact of
our research activities.
"Investing in drug discovery and development is critical to
maintaining an ecosystem that encourages and promotes innovation.
Our expansion in San Diego is a
prime example of investing in a research success story," said
Jan Lundberg, Ph.D., executive vice
president for science and technology and president of Lilly
Research Laboratories. "Expanding our presence in San Diego will not only help us discover and
deliver innovative medicines faster, but will also help us achieve
our goal of launching 20 new medicines in 10 years."
San Diego has long been an
important location for Lilly. In
2004 Lilly acquired Applied
Molecular Evolution, Inc. before establishing the Lilly San Diego
Biotechnology Center in 2009, located near the University of California, San Diego, among other
prominent biomedical research institutes. Since its establishment,
the center has created more than 100 jobs with more than 200
scientists currently working in various research activities.
"Congratulations to Lilly on
the expansion of its new Biotechnology Center, which will double
its drug research and development in San
Diego, create high-quality jobs, and encourage collaboration
on groundbreaking therapies that improve patient care and lower
costs," said Representative Scott
Peters (D-CA 52nd Congressional District). "San Diego's life sciences industry is changing
the face of medicine and companies like Lilly are driving this innovation."
About Lilly's U.S. Research
and Development Investment
Nearly $250 million of Lilly's $850
million capital investments will be dedicated to supporting
its research and development centers around the U.S., including the
center in San Diego, in
2017. Lilly's other U.S.
research centers are located in Indianapolis, Indiana; Cambridge, Massachusetts; New York, New York; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 2017, Lilly plans to spend
approximately $5 billion on global
R&D, nearly $4 billion of which
will be invested in U.S. based programs, including projects with
many of California's leading
biomedical research institutions.
"This investment doesn't come without risk. America's
biopharmaceutical leadership is driven by a free-market economy
that rewards innovation," said Ricks. "Today, there are multiple
public policy threats to our business that would discourage or
reduce our investment in the U.S. and the state. We are committed
to working with policymakers and stakeholders to ensure our efforts
to deliver new innovative medicines to patients are not
threatened."
About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that
unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around
the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man
committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs,
and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across
the globe, Lilly employees work to
discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them,
improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back
to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more
about Lilly, please visit us at
www.lilly.com and www.lilly.com/newsroom/social-channels.
C-LLY
This press release contains forward-looking statements (as
that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995) about the benefits of the Lilly Biotechnology Center in
San Diego, California and
other planned capital projects, and reflects Lilly's current beliefs. However, as with any
such undertaking, there are substantial risks and uncertainties in
the processes of pharmaceutical research and development, and
capital project implementation and completion. Among other things,
there can be no guarantee that the projects will be completed on
the anticipated timeline or at all or that Lilly will realize the expected benefits of
the projects. For further discussion of these and other risks and
uncertainties, please see Lilly's
latest Forms 10-Q and 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Lilly undertakes no duty to update
forward-looking statements.
Nicole Hebert,
hebert_nicole@lilly.com, (317) 701-9984
Jackie Shelton, sheltonj@lilly.com,
(317) 719-5928
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SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company