Compound Pharma Company Announces Cuts

Pharmakon LTC was founded in 2003.

Nearly 200 workers at a compounding pharmaceutical company in Noblesville are expected to be out of work by the end of the week. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development says its Rapid Response team is working to help employees displaced by the closing of Pharmakon Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Pharmakon Long Term Care Pharmacy Inc. facilities.

Earlier this year, Pharmakon announced a recall of painkilling medication it distributed across nine states. The action followed a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation that described some unsanitary conditions at the Noblesville plant, leading to a temporary stoppage in production. In April, our partners at WBAA in West Lafayette reported, to that point, testing had not turned up any problems with the recalled drugs. According to a notice to the state signed by owner Paul Elmer, the smaller of the two entities, Pharmakon Pharmaceuticals, will let go 15 workers as a result of the FDA investigation. In a separate notice to the DWD, the company blames the cutting of 180 jobs at Pharmakon Long Term Care Pharmacy Inc. on loss of a major client.

In January, the company announced the completion of a new $10 million facility in Noblesville, bringing its operations, which had been in Carmel, into the same facility.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development and WorkOne Central Indiana say future activities will focus on connecting out-of-work employees with local employment opportunities, resume assistance, interview workshops and skills assessments.