OREANDA-NEWS. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today revealed plans to expand its global research and development (R&D) headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Adding 130,000 square feet to Lilly's existing complex, the new $70 million building will feature a multi-disciplinary laboratory that facilitates collaboration across multiple research functions. The new building is part of Lilly's continued growth of its Indianapolis footprint, which included a $400 million expansion initiated in 2013 to increase its insulin manufacturing capacity.

"We are excited to grow our presence in Indianapolis, which is home to our largest global R&D facility and where our research efforts began," said Jan Lundberg, Ph.D., executive vice president of science and technology and president of Lilly Research Laboratories. "Evolving our laboratories will position Lilly and its Indianapolis-based scientists to more efficiently discover and develop new treatments that will make life better."

Upon completion in 2017, the new building will enable organic chemists and engineers to work side-by-side in a collaboration-centric workspace with modelling, analytical and formulation scientists. Key to this success will be flexible laboratories that can adapt as research and technology needs evolve, as well as open, interactive meeting spaces that are meant to spark creativity and multi-disciplinary problem-solving. The laboratory will focus its efforts on small molecules - treatments typically taken orally - which currently comprise about half of Lilly's investigational medicines portfolio.

"Ultimately, innovation is often tied to where and how we work together, so we wanted to create an environment that could unlock this potential," said Bret Huff, vice president of small molecule design and development. "We believe this expansion will allow for greater collaboration among Lilly's small molecule research experts, which will help to further accelerate the development of new medicines within the company's core therapeutic areas."

This is Lilly's fourth strategic research and development expansion this year. In May, Lilly announced it would build a delivery and device innovation center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In July, Lilly announced an expansion of its biotechnology center in San Diego, California. In October, Lilly announced an expansion of its presence at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in New York, New York.