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The South Korean pharma company’s US subsidiary is purchasing Eli Lilly’s Branchburg, NJ site to safeguard against potential tariffs. strengthen domestic production, and expands its biosimilar footprint.
The mystery is solved.
Celltrion, a South Korean pharmaceutical company, revealed via a regulatory filing that its US subsidiary (Celltrion USA) is purchasing Eli Lilly’s biopharma manufacturing facility in Branchburg, NJ for $330 million.1,2 It was originally owned by Imclone Systems LLC, who was acquired by Lilly in 2008.
The move—confirmed by Reuters and The Korea Times—is expected to be in response to the forthcoming pharma tariffs that’ll be impacting the United States.
As it currently stands, tariffs continue to be in question, but the Trump administration requested that the US Supreme Court hear out an appeal to overturn a previous ruling by a lower court declaring that a majority of the president’s tariffs are null and void.3
The pharma company has originally begun hinting at the possibility of acquiring of US production plant in late July, but wasn’t naming the other involved party at the time. It encompasses four buildings spanning overing 391,000 square feet and a total of 37 acres.
Although Celltrion didn’t receive one, President Trump had recently issued letters to 17 of the largest pharmaceutical companies, expressing urgency for making changes along the drug pricing front.
The letters stem from an executive order (EO) he enacted in May that essentially proclaimed that pharma companies need to treat the United States as a most-favored nation (MFN) as it pertains to drug pricing. The EO notes that US drug prices need to be less than or equal to the drug’s lowest price in other nations, as a way of establishing fairness.
Celltrion issued a couple of letters in response at the time, noting that “As previously explained in our May 21 website announcement, this initiative appears to be primarily targeted at high-cost drugs that impose a burden on US patients. Since Celltrion already supplies products at competitive prices and promotes price competition through biosimilars, we do not expect our products to be directly affected.
“Moreover, if the MFN pricing policy leads to reduced prices for expensive originator drugs, the current environment—where originals are prioritized in formularies—is expected to shift toward more direct competition with biosimilars, thereby expanding prescription opportunities for our biosimilar portfolio.”
Regarding the US tariff strategy, Celltrion left three levels of responses: short-term, mid-term, and long-term.
Short-term involves the completed stockpiling of two years’ worth of inventory within the United States, while mid-term consists of growing contracts and business with local CMOs in order to allow for domestic production in the United States.
The long-term response is that it is currently pursuing the purchase of large-scale cGMP manufacturing plant in the United States from an unnamed pharma company. The facility produces biologics that are used as autoimmune disease and cancer treatments.
Celltrion considers itself the frontrunner for acquiring the facility in a deal that is expected to close in early October.
“Upon completion of the acquisition, the facility is expected to eliminate all future tariff-related risks for our pharmaceutical products. This involves completing the acquisition of a local manufacturing facility, which represents a fundamental solution to the tariff issue,” the letter explained.
According to Celltrion’s chairman, Seo Jung-jin, the company is financially committing a grand total of $1 billion that includes costs associated with running the facilities, while also allowing for future growth. The two parties have reportedly “agreed in priniciple” that 50% of the plant’s lines will continue drug substance production on behalf of Lilly’s products as a contract manufacturing organization (CMO), while the other half will be utilized for Celltrion products.
Celltrion anticipates receiving US regulatory approval for the plant this year, with production of both Celltrion and Eli Lilly products expected to begin by the end of 2026.
References
1. Celltrion Unit Pays $330 Million for Eli Lilly Production Facility, Filing Shows. Reuters. September 22, 2025. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://www.pharmexec.com/view/president-trump-letters-17-most-favored-nation-order
2. Hyun-woo N. Celltrion acquires Eli Lilly bio plant in New Jersey. The Korea Times. September 23, 2025. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/business/companies/20250923/celltrion-acquires-eli-lilly-bio-plant-in-new-jersey
3. Saraceno N. Trump Pushes Supreme Court to Save Tariffs After Appeals Court Ruling Limits Presidential Power. Pharmaceutical Commerce. September 4, 2025. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://www.pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/view/trump-pushes-supreme-court-save-tariffs-appeals-court-ruling
4. Saraceno N. Trump’s MFN Drug Pricing Push Targets 17 Big Pharma Companies, Spurs Global Industry Response. Pharmaceutical Commerce. August 1, 2025. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://www.pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/view/trump-pushes-supreme-court-save-tariffs-appeals-court-ruling
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