Lilly Restructures Manufacturing

Eli Lilly & Co. says it will halt construction of an insulin plant in Prince William County, Va., and it will scale back its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) operation at its Tippecanoe manufacturing site in Lafayette, Ind.

Lilly will meet expected growth in insulin demand with existing plants and with a new site being built in Sesto, Italy, the firm says. It cited excess capacity in announcing its plan to eliminate up to 250 jobs in Lafayette.

The firm also announced that it will expand its Kinsale, Ireland, API plant and its Indianapolis parenteral operation, which formulates biotech APIs manufactured in Kinsale. These investments are part of a previously announced $1.5 billion campaign to boost biotechnology capabilities and follow a $1 billion expansion of the company's manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico.

"Lilly is continuing to transform its operations to compete and win in a more challenging business environment," says Scott A. Canute, president of manufacturing operations.