Pfizer to close its Navi Mumbai plant

Drug firm Pfizer is planning to close its Navi Mumbai plantfrom September 16, 2015.

In a filing to BSE, Pfizer Ltd said that "the company has intimated theconcerned authorities that it intends to effect closure of its plant situatedat Thane Belapur Road,... Navi Mumbai with effect from September 16,2015".

The decision to close the plant is based on an assessment of its long termviability and its ability to achieve the needed production, it added.

Stating that the closure will not have any effect on the availability of drugs,Pfizer said, "There has practically been no production activity at thisplant since 2013, and the closure will not impact the supply of any of thecompany's medicines to patients."

Shares of Pfizer Ltd were today trading at Rs 2,114.50 per scrip in theafternoon trade on BSE, up 0.18 percent from its previous close.

"The decision to close the site is based on an assessment of its long-term viability and its ability to achieve the needed production. There has practically been no production activity at this plant since 2013," a Pfizer spokesperson said.

The spokesperson further said that the closure of the facility will not impact supply of any of the company's medicines to patients.

The plant, which employed 212 workers, had offered a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) last year. This was taken up by as many as 132 workmen, the spokesperson said.

"The remaining 80 workmen have continued to receive full wages, despite plant inactivity. As a part of the closure process, the company will honour its obligations towards requisite compensation, as mandated by law, for the remaining workmen," the company spokesperson said.

"The company has intimated the concerned authorities that it intends to effect closure of its plant situated at Thane Belapur Road,... Navi Mumbai with effect from September 16, 2015," Pfizer said in a filing to the BSE.

The Thane plant was commissioned in the 1960s. It had produced a number of medicines for both domestic and international markets.

Shares in Pfizer, on Wednesday, ended 0.26 per cent lower at Rs 2,105.20 apiece on the BSE.