LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Eli Lilly & Co. is selling a central Indiana manufacturing plant where about 700 people work to a German chemical company. The Indianapolis-based drugmaker announced Wednesday that Evonik Industries AG would take over the Tippecanoe Laboratories near Lafayette by the end of this year. Lilly says that the plant’s workers will all be offered jobs with Evonik, which will make ingredients for some Lilly drugs under a nine-year contract. Lilly says it expected its use of the Lafayette facility to decline because patents on some drugs made there will expire soon. The plant had about 1,000 employees before Lilly offered buy-out packages to 250 workers in 2007. Lilly said last month it planned to eliminate 5,500 jobs by the end of 2011.
