Evonik completes handover of Tippecanoe from Lilly
pharmafile | January 13, 2010 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â API, Evonik, lillyÂ
Germany’s Evonik Industries has started up production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) at the Tippecanoe Laboratories facility acquired from Eli Lilly.
Evonik stepped forward last October to take on the facility in Lafayette, Indiana, which had been under threat of closure since July 2008, and closed the deal on January 1.
The deal is in keeping with an ongoing trend among big pharma companies with manufacturing overcapacity to sell off plants to contract manufacturers, reducing overheads but maintaining continuity of supply through long-term, strategic supply contracts.
Evonik’s agreement is very much in this mould, and the company will manufacture a range of APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates for Lilly under the terms of a nine-year supply agreement, as well as allowing Evonik to make materials for other pharmaceutical companies.
The German chemical company has been building its presence in the pharmaceutical, health and nutrition sectors of late, as a way to reduce its reliance on supplying more cyclical, commodity industries. In its last set of financial results reported in November 2009, Evonik’s chemical operations reported a 16% fall in third-quarter sales to 2.6 billion euros.
The Tippecanoe facility was first set up in the 1950s and manufactures final bulk and intermediate steps for a range of Lilly’s animal and human health products, including cancer drug Gemzar (gemcitabine) and antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine).
Lilly said last year it had decided to divest the plant because the main products made there had lost or would soon lose patent protection, while its overall business was moving more towards developing biologic medicines.
The Tippecanoe handover took place with very little disruption among the workforce, with all permanent staff employed by Lilly at the plant offered jobs with the new owner. Around 650 of an estimated 800 former Lilly staff are still working at the facility.
Evonik said that the plant “significantly strengthens its exclusive synthesis business in the US and offers scope for further long-term growth”.
The terms of the sale of the 2,400-acre site have not been disclosed.
Related Content
NICE RECOMMENDS LILLY’S TIRZEPATIDE (MOUNJARO ®▼) FOR MANAGING OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY IN FINAL DRAFT GUIDANCE
BASINGSTOKE, 5th December 2024 – Eli Lilly and Company announced today that the National Institute …
Lilly’s COVID-19 drug has EUA revoked in favour of combination therapy
The FDA have revoked Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of Eli Lilly’s bamlanivimab drug for the …
Lilly’s ulcerative colitis treatment meets all key endpoints in Phase III trial
Eli Lilly’s mirikizumab treatment for ulcerative colitis (UC) patients has met the primary endpoints and …
