Lilly and Novast Laboratories Ltd. began the expansion of manufacturing and development facility capacities in Nantong, Jiangsu, China, as part of Lilly’s strategic partnership with Novast to create a platform of Lilly-branded generic medicines. The facility will be built employing a quality by design approach with leading engineering consultants, and will emphasize quality and safety at each step of the design process.
 
The $60 – $70 million expansion will add 260,000 sq.-ft. of manufacturing space for the production of both sustained release and containment solid oral dosage pharmaceuticals, with an annual additional capacity of more than 2.2 billion units. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of 2015, and once operational, will create more than 350 additional jobs.
 
“This day marks a new chapter for Novast as we are transitioning from commercializing quality prescription products in the U.S. to focusing on catering the same to the China domestic needs through the collaboration platform with Lilly,” said Dr. Zhang, president and chief executive officer of Novast Holdings, Ltd.
 
“We are delighted to see the facility expansion of Novast under the strategic partnership of Lilly-Novast on brand-generic medicine. In Lilly’s emerging markets business, we are focused on providing patients with innovative medicines from our own pipeline, as well as select Lilly-branded generic medicines that meet Lilly Global Quality Standards. The additional manufacturing capabilities provided by Novast will allow us to better deliver on that strategy,” said Mr. Alfonso Zulueta, senior vice president and president of Emerging Markets, Eli Lilly and Co.