GlaxoSmithLkine closing Bristol facility- 250 jobs lost
Sep 7, 2006
BRISTOL, Tenn. - Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline announced Wednesday it will close its Bristol, Tenn., operations over the next two to three years, resulting in a loss of more than 250 jobs.
The company, headquartered in the United Kingdom, has operated the Bristol plant at 201 Industrial Drive since 1979. The company manufactures penicillin-based antibiotics at the site for the United States and global drug markets.
"This was an extremely difficult decision to make and we regret the impact it will have on our employees," said Jeff Gramm, Bristol site director.
The company blamed the plant closure on declining sales of its penicillin products. Sales have slumped since 2002, when GlaxoSmithKline lost its Augmentin IR patent protection in the United States and generic drugs entered the market.
Since then, Augmentin production in Bristol has plummeted by 70 percent, and employment at the site has fallen from 405 in 2003 to 253 today.
"The loss of our patents and the significant decline in sales over the last three years has increased our manufacturing costs and those factors mean that production at Bristol will not be viable," Gramm said.
He said the company will offer its employees various services to help during the closure, including job retraining opportunities.
The company has tried to offset declining sales at the Bristol site. It started making an authorized generic of Augmentin ES-600 to compete against another generic version introduced in 2005. But prescription volumes continued to plummet.
This year, GlaxoSmithKline stopped promoting Augmentin XR and began focusing entirely on growth products. It also reduced production of Augmentin XR samples.
It plans to eliminate all production at the Bristol site in the next two to three years.
In conjunction, the company will also close its Bristol print shop, which produces circulars, leaflets and other printed materials for customers. It will also shut down an off-site plastics processing facility that produces bottles for the Bristol plant.
GlaxoSmithKline spokesperson Melinda Stubbee said the company would consider selling the Bristol facilities.
"If a potential buyer comes forward with their own business to introduce to the site, sale of the site assets will be given serious consideration," she said.
GlaxoSmithKline makes up 7 percent of the world's pharmaceuticals market.
source : http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=3674085
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