March 24, 2017
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Yesterday, MEDA Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Canonsburg, Penn.-based Mylan , announced it was closing its manufacturing facility in Decatur, Ill. This would result in 90 job cuts.
Shortly afterward, it was suggested that the laid-off workers might have the option, or at least the possibility, of finding employment at Akorn Pharmaceuticals (AKRX)another drug company that has operations in the area. Amy Spry, a talent acquisition partner for Akorn in Decatur told the Herald & Review, “Absolutely. We hope we can keep these workers in Decatur.”
Spry apparently has contacted Meda’s human resource department to offer placement assistance.
Mylan acquired Meda in 2016 for $7 billion. The Decatur Meda facility was previously owned by MedPointe Pharmaceuticals until it was acquired by Meda in 2007.
“The decision to close the (Decatur) site comes after a careful assessment of bringing the two businesses (Meda and Mylan) together as part of our integration process and is consistent with our ongoing efforts to operate our businesses as efficiently as possible,” said Lauren Kashtan, a Mylan spokeswoman in a statement.
The layoffs are related to the acquisition, as a way to “reduce redundancy.” Mylan has predicted the cuts would affect less than 10 percent of its workforce worldwide. The company employs 35,000 people globally.
The first closures were Meda’s U.S. office in Somerset, NJ. Announced in December 2016, 94 jobs were cut. Other cuts have taken place at Mylan sites in Morganton, WV, Washington, DC, St. Albans City, Vt., and Greensboro, NC.
Mylan told the Metro News in December, “Since 2015, Mylan has made a number of significant acquisitions, and as part of the holistic, global integration of Mylan we are focusing on how to best optimize and maximize all of our assets, including reducing redundancy across our organization across all geographies. As part of this process, we will be taking actions that will impact less than 10 percent of our global workforce.”
Mylan received a great deal of bad press last year over pricing strategies for its EpiPen Auto-Injector, as well as other prescription drugs. The EpiPen delivers a measured dose of life-saving epinephrine for severe allergic reactions. It has a price tag of $600 for two injectors. In 2015, the EpiPen created $1.2 billion in revenue, or about 40 percent of total revenue. However, when Mylan acquired the EpiPen in 2007, the price was $57.
In terms of Decatur, Akorn Pharmaceuticals, with headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill., is a generic drug manufacturer. It recently cut the ribbon on a 30,000-square-foot expansion to an existing packaging facility in Decature. The project cost $5.6 million and added 25 positions to its existing 200 jobs. It recently broke ground in October 2016 on another expansion of a facility on Grand Avenue in Decature, which will include a new laboratory and pilot plant. It is expected to be completed in 2018. That expansion costs $25 million.
The Meda job cuts will be phased in and the operation won’t close until 2018. Meda indicates its staffers will be offered severance packages that include severance pay, benefits continuation, and outplacement counseling and assistance.
