(Yicai) March 12 -- Eli Lilly said the US drugmaker plans to invest USD3 billion in China over the coming decade to expand supply-chain production capacity for its next-generation small wight-loss drug, which is awaiting regulatory approval in the country.

Lilly plans to team up with Chinese manufacturers to boost production capacity for its oral drug orforglipron, a small molecule glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, increase output at its Suzhou plant, and add new pill capacity in Beijing, the Indiana-based firm said late yesterday.

Orforglipron is the company's first oral GLP-1 drug. Lilly applied to China's National Medical Products Administration at the end of last year for the drug to be used in treating type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Lilly will expand its own capacity and work with other firms to hike the supply capacity of orforglipron, said Executive Vice President Edgardo Hernandez. In addition to expanding the Suzhou facility, the company will also partner with leading Chinese contract development and manufacturing organizations and strengthen its supply chain procurement capabilities, he added.

CDMO partnerships will help speed the path of Lilly’s innovative drugs from the lab to the factory and ultimately to patients, said Hernandez, who is also Lilly’s president of production and operations.

The investment, a key part of Lilly's largest-ever global capacity expansion program, is aimed at realizing the firm's long-term business layout in China, Hernandez noted, adding that it will help build an agile and integrated production system to further consolidate the country's strategic position in Lilly's global business network.

Orforglipron represents a major breakthrough for the company in the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, Huzur Devletsah, Lilly VP and general manager of its China arm, told Yicai. The oral therapy could enable earlier treatment and more consistent long-term disease management, particularly for patients who prefer pills or face challenges ensuring the cold chain conditions needed for injections, she said.

In a separate announcement late yesterday, Lilly said it had inked a production deal for orforglipron with Chinese outsourcing services provider Pharmaron. The US drugmaker will invest USD200 million to enhance Pharmaron’s technological capabilities, with the potential to expand the scope of the partnership as the project progresses.

The partnership on orforglipron marks an important milestone for Pharmaron’s formulation CDMO business, the Beijing-based firm said. By providing efficient and reliable production services, the tie-up will help Lilly bring its innovative medicines to Chinese patients more quickly, it added.

Pharmaron offers global clients full-process integrated research, development, and manufacturing services from early-stage discovery through clinical development and commercial production. It has helped many partners gain approval for their novel drugs in China.

Pharmaron’s shares [SHE: 300759] closed up 4.4 percent at CNY28.37 (USD4.12) apiece in Shenzhen today, while its stock in Hong Kong [HKG: 3759] ended 8.4 percent higher at HKD20.16 (USD2.58).

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev