Lilly plans insulin-related manufacturing growth

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Drugmaker Eli Lilly says it is planning a multi-million dollar expansion of its manufacturing operations to make cartridges that deliver insulin to patients.

The Indianapolis company says the cartridges will help meet growing demand in the United States for diabetes treatments. Nearly 26 million U.S. residents have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease in which the body does not properly produce or use the hormone insulin.

Diabetes treatments represent a sizeable portion of Lilly's product portfolio. The insulins Humalog and Humulin brought in a total of $861 million in revenue during the recently completed third quarter, or roughly 16 percent of Lilly's total.

A Lilly spokesman says the company will discuss details of its Indianapolis expansion on Thursday.