Eli Lilly and Company's Lilly Concord manufacturing campus has been named the 2026 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) Category Winner for Operations – Project Execution by the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE).

Located on a 415-acre greenfield site in Concord, North Carolina, the fully paperless, automated parenteral manufacturing campus advanced from groundbreaking in June 2022 to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in December 2024, a 30-month delivery timeline far below industry norms.

The project's execution strategy combined a Cold Dark Shell sequencing approach, smart replication of validated design platforms from Lilly's Research Triangle Park site, modular delivery of a 14,000-square-foot central utility plant assembled from 25 pretested modules, and extensive use of digital twin technology that enabled more than 250 days of virtual testing before equipment arrived on site.

"The Concord project stands as a benchmark for excellence in Operations – Project Execution. Through disciplined governance, replication of proven platforms, aggressive modularization, and digital twin enabled commissioning, Lilly delivered a fully automated, digitally integrated, good manufacturing practice compliant manufacturing campus at industry leading speed. The project establishes a repeatable model for high velocity, high complexity facility delivery and exemplifies the intent of FOYA Category Operations – Project Execution." 

– ISPE FOYA

ISPE's FOYA program, established in 2005, recognizes projects that advance pharmaceutical facility design, construction, and operation.

Hanbury served as Architect, with BE&K Building Group as Construction Manager and HIPP Design & Consulting as Mechanical and Electrical Engineer. 

Read the full announcement on the ISPE website.