Asia Tech Wire (Oct 11) -- Lilly China announced on Friday that it will invest about 1.5 billion yuan ($212 million) in capacity upgrades at its Suzhou plant.

With this expansion, Lilly aims to scale up production of innovative drugs for type 2 diabetes and obesity to meet patient demand in China and to support the production of future pipeline products.

The investment is due to add about 120 new high-quality jobs, the company said.

After the expansion, Lilly's Suzhou plant will cater to the dual needs of exporting to the European market and supplying domestic drugs.

Lilly China recently announced the appointment of Qiong Yan as vice president of the diabetes products business unit, as a member of the Lilly China management team.