Libertyville gene-therapy manufacturing site to close, lay off 133 employees\nBy John Pletz\nJohn Pletz is a senior reporter covering technology, aviation and cannabis for Crain’s Chicago Business. He joined Crain's in 2007 and previously covered technology for the American-Statesman in Austin, Texas.\nBy Jon Asplund\nJon Asplund is a contributing reporter covering health care for Crain’s Chicago Business.\nBy John Pletz\nJon Asplund\nBristol Myers Squibb is closing a gene-therapy manufacturing facility in Libertyville that employs 133 workers.\nIt's the second time the facility has been on the losing end of a consolidation play.\nBristol Myers Squibb acquired it two years ago from Novartis, which acquired the site when it bought gene-therapy startup AxeXis for $8.7 billion in 2018.\nNovartis later decided to close the facility, which employed 275 people, when it consolidated gene-therapy production in Durham, N.C.\nBristol Myers Squibb now is shuttering the facility as it consolidates its own gene-therapy production in Devens, Mass., as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting effort.\n“This is a strategic move toward a more cost effective, scalable, and integrated end-to-end manufacturing model,” the company said in a statement.\nLayoffs are set to begin July 1, according to a WARN filing with the state of Illinois.\nWhen it was created by AveXis, the facility was seen as a gem that could help Chicago leverage its long history of pharmaceutical manufacturing into the fast-developing field of biologic medicines.\nEconomic development and real estate officials hope to find another occupant as biopharma companies look to set up shop in the U.S. amid the threat of tariffs.\n“It’s a high-tech facility, the type of manufacturing that companies would be looking for if they were expanding their footprint in the U.S. not only because of the facility but also the employees,” says John Conrad, CEO of the Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization.

Libertyville gene-therapy manufacturing site to close, lay off 133 employees

Bristol Myers Squibb is closing a gene-therapy manufacturing facility in Libertyville, Illinois, and laying off 133 employees as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting effort to consolidate production in Devens, Massachusetts. The facility, previously owned by Novartis and later acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb, is the second time the site has been closed due to consolidation strategies.