Celltrion acquires Eli Lilly’s New Jersey plant in $330M deal

Celltrion said Tuesday it has signed a contract to acquire Eli Lilly’s biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Branchburg, New Jersey, for about 460 billion won ($330 million), securing its first U.S. production site. Celltrion will acquire Eli Lilly’s New Jersey biopharmaceutical plant for $330 million, securing its first U.S. production site and eliminating tariff risks with plans for over 1.4 trillion won in investments.

The Korean biosimilar maker plans to invest a total of 700 billion won, including acquisition and initial operating costs, and will commit at least an additional 700 billion won to expand production facilities on the site’s unused land. Combined, the project will involve a minimum of 1.4 trillion won in investments. The acquisition will be carried out through Celltrion’s U.S. subsidiary, with both companies aiming to complete the process by the end of the year.

During an online press conference on the same day, Celltrion Chairman Seo Jung-jin stsaid that the price is fixed and will not change, and Celltrion USA will be the acquiring entity for tax and legal efficiency.

The Branchburg campus spans 45,000 pyeong (about 149,000 square meters) and consists of four main buildings, including a drug substance manufacturing facility, logistics warehouse, technical support unit, and operations building. It also has an 11,000-pyeong site available for future capacity expansion, enabling Celltrion to respond flexibly to rising global demand.

“Compared with building a new plant, we save roughly six years,” Seo said.

The deal marks the completion of Celltrion’s “comprehensive tariff response plan,” first outlined by Seo in May. The company had already relocated two years’ worth of product inventory to the U.S. and expanded contracts with local contract manufacturers. By securing its own U.S. plant, Celltrion said it can now fundamentally eliminate tariff risks, not only for its current blockbuster products but also for future launches.

“We are now completely out of tariff-risk range for our U.S. products,” Seo said.

Unlike building a new plant, which would require over five years and multi-trillion-won investment, Celltrion will be able to begin operations immediately upon takeover. The Branchburg site is already operating as a cGMP-compliant drug substance facility. Celltrion also plans to swiftly expand capacity at the site, ultimately reaching 1.5 times the production scale of its second Songdo plant in Incheon.

“Validation and re-approval will take about one year, and by late 2026 we expect the site to produce our own products while roughly half of capacity continues as CMO for Lilly,” Seo said, noting that detailed product selection for U.S. manufacturing will be finalized within the year.

The agreement includes the full transfer of the site’s existing workforce, ensuring continuity of operations and retention of expertise. Celltrion said this avoids the steep costs and delays associated with recruiting and training a new workforce for a greenfield facility.

“Full employment succession reduces training and ramp-up burdens, together with two purification lines and logistics efficiencies, we estimate total savings of about 1.5 trillion won,” Seo said. New Jersey’s broad pharmaceutical talent pool is expected to support further expansion as needed.

Alongside the acquisition, Celltrion signed a contract manufacturing agreement with Lilly. Under the deal, Celltrion will continue to supply active pharmaceutical ingredients produced at the Branchburg facility back to Lilly, creating immediate revenue streams and helping the company recoup its investment faster.

“CMO pricing has been pre-agreed in principle, and we expect margins comparable to other U.S. CMO peers with limited dilution,” Seo said, adding that the existing plant will devote about half of its capacity to Lilly under the CMO arrangement from 2026.

On market scope, Seo said U.S.-made products will serve the American market while other regions continue to be supplied from Korea.

“The U.S. site is for the U.S. market; for other countries we will keep supplying from our Korean sites,” he said. “If U.S. tariffs rise as signaled, CMO demand in the U.S. could increase and we are prepared to expand accordingly.”

Seo also addressed operational risks and staffing.

“Key FDA quality issues at the site have been resolved; the facility passed inspection in 2024 and has undergone substantial upgrades,” he said. “For staffing, we will use E-2 visas for expatriates and operate independently with selective exchange between the Branchburg and Songdo teams.”

On broader policy, Seo said tariff pressures are likely to persist regardless of the U.S. administration.

“Whoever is in office, tariffs will remain a constant, so companies selling into the U.S. must plan for U.S. manufacturing,” he said. “Eliminating tariff uncertainty, securing CMO income, and accelerating time-to-market were the core reasons for this decision.”

Edgardo Hernandez, Lilly’s senior vice president and president of manufacturing operations, said the Branchburg plant had served as one of Lilly’s key manufacturing hubs for 17 years and praised the professionalism and dedication of its staff. A Celltrion spokesperson said the acquisition provides a fundamental solution to tariff risks while also building a one-stop supply chain in the U.S. from production to sales.

Seo added that Celltrion will prioritize stable monoclonal antibody work at the site. “ADC capacity is oversupplied globally at the moment, so our focus in the U.S. will be on reliable antibody manufacturing and on scaling CMO and, where appropriate, CDMO services,” he said.