Covance takes over abandoned Eli Lilly site

US pharmaceutical developer Covance has acquired Eli Lilly's partially constructed facility in the US state of Virginia to develop a Class A drug development laboratory.

Lilly began work on the USD 325m property for insulin manufacturing in 2006, but then abandoned construction halfway through in January 2007, citing changes in its global manufacturing strategy. The company returned approximately USD 5m in economic development incentives it received from the state to construct the 2.8-hectare site.

Covance will invest USD 175m in the project, which includes expanding the facility to about four hectares. It will relocate 450 employees to the property by 2011 from existing operations in Virginia and said it may hire an additional 100 employees by 2014.

Covance will also receive about USD 3.7m in state incentives.