Lilly consults on closure of three European sites

Indianapolis-headquartered Eli Lilly says it plans to close its dry products manufacturing site at Basingstoke, UK and is also consulting employees on separate proposals to close its r&d sites in Belgium and Germany.

Explaining the UK closure, Andrew Hotchkiss, md of Lilly UK said: "There is over-capacity in Lilly's dry product manufacturing network. We have conducted an analysis of our requirements in the dry product area, and whilst these medicines remain important for Lilly, sales forecasts over the next decade indicate that we have too much capacity both now and in the long term. Additionally, the nature of our pipeline has become increasingly weighted toward injectable medicines."

Lilly currently operates a total of four dry product manufacturing sites: Basingstoke; Indianapolis; Alcobendas, Spain; and Puerto Rico.

The Basingstoke site, which has 445 employees and 111 contractors, currently manufactures medicines that include Zyprexa, a treatment for severe mental illness and Cialis, a treatment for erectile dysfunction. Lilly says it is not possible to refit the site for the production of injectables.

The company estimates that around 100 UK employees could be eligible for early retirement and a small number would be offered redeployment to roles at other Lilly sites. Some 300 employees would be made redundant.

The company will still have a presence in the UK, with its research facility in Windlesham, Surrey, a biotechnology manufacturing facility at Speke on Merseyside, and UK headquarters office in Basingstoke.