January 19, 2015
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Switzerland-based Novartis AG announced Friday that it would be closing its manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico in 2019 and lay off 270 employees.
Some of the Humacao, Puerto Rico facilities’ manufacturing and packaging operations will be transferred to other companies, including Eli Lilly and Company Others will be transferred to a Novartis facility in Lincoln, Neb.
“Novartis continually reviews its manufacturing infrastructure and capacity, including the number and size of its sites, to ensure we have the right production capacity in place to meet market demand, support our products and pipeline, and maximize productivity,” a Novartis spokesman said in a statement. “Novartis Consumer Health decided to close Humacao in a phased manner over time following such a review of manufacturing infrastructure and capacity.”
The Humacao plant produces Gas-X (simethicone) and Ex-Lax, and the packaging of Prevacid. These will be shifted to Lincoln. The Lincoln facility currently manufactures solid dose and powder forms of Excedrin and Theraflu. No additional jobs are expected to be added in Nebraska, which currently employs about 500 people.
The Puerto Rico facility also produces and packages animal health products, Sentinel, Interceptor and Milbemax. These will be shifted to Eli Lilly or France-based Virbac.
Novartis announced Jan. 12 that it had established a joint investment company with Qualcomm Ventures, the venture investment group of Qualcomm Incorporated. The joint agreement will have up to $100 million to support early stage companies.
“By working with Qualcomm Ventures, Novartis sees the opportunity to take a greater leadership role in introducing new mobile or digital technologies that have the potential to change the practice of medicine and bring more breakthroughs with real benefits to patients and society,” said David Epstein, division head of Novartis Pharmaceuticals in a statement. “We are excited by the potential of digital medicines to further enhance our mission of the right drug for the right patients at the right time helping people live longer with a better quality of life giving more time to do the things that matter to them.”
Novartis is also concluding a joint venture agreement with U.K.-based GlaxoSmithKline that would give GSK 63.5 percent ownership of Novartis’ over-the-counter drug business, as well as management of its facilities, including the manufacturing plant in Nebraska. The deal is planned for completion in the first half of 2015.
