07-02-2025
Pharma company to close Plymouth facility, lay off 58 workers
A pharmaceutical company is closing one of its Twin Cities facilities, resulting in dozens of workers being laid off later this year.
Drug-maker Upsher-Smith confirmed in a WARN notice to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) that it is closing its plant at 14905 23rd Avenue North.
The company, which was bought by Taiwan-based Bora Pharmaceuticals in a $210 million deal last year, is keeping its facility at 6701 Evenstad Dr. N. in Maple Grove.
The move will result in 58 employees being laid off, some of whom will be at the Maple Grove plant. Some staff from the Plymouth facility will be moved over to Maple Grove.
Upsher-Smith says the Plymouth plant will close on April 1, with the layoffs happening in two or three waves ending on July 31.
Upsher-Smith makes a series of generic drugs including the anticonvulsant Vigabatrin, cancer medication Everolimus, and Topiramate, which can be used to treat migraines and seizures.
The company was founded in 1919 by England-native Frederick Alfred Upsher Smith, who launched a laboratory in downtown Minneapolis.
It was bought by Ken Evenstad in 1969 and was owned by his family for almost 50 years before it was sold amid a family feud to Japan-based Sawai Pharmaceutical in 2017.
In a statement to the Star Tribune, Upsher-Smith said the Plymouth closure represents a "strategic realignment to optimize global operations and better serve our customers."
