Lilly Steps Up Obesity Push With San Diego Innovation Hub and $6.5 Billion Houston Factory

Overview

• On September 26, 2025, Eli Lilly opened an 82,514-square-foot Lilly Gateway Labs site in San Diego that can host up to 15 startups and more than 250 employees under its Catalyze360 program.
• The company announced a $6.5 billion manufacturing facility in Houston to expand production of small-molecule medicines including orforglipron, with operations targeted within five years and several hundred jobs expected.
• A U.S.-registered study of bimagrumab, alone or with tirzepatide, in obese or overweight adults with type 2 diabetes was closed on June 10 shortly after initiation, while a similar study in non-diabetic patients remains active and the company cited routine portfolio evaluations.
• Lilly is pursuing international growth for its oral GLP-1 with plans to launch orforglipron in India pending regulatory approval.
• European regulators granted marketing authorization for donanemab, and Bernstein reaffirmed an Outperform rating with a $1,100 target while expressing greater confidence in orforglipron as the leading oral GLP-1 and noting reduced physician willingness to accept placebo-controlled trials.