Novartis plant in New York bought for $18M, then resold for $30M

The vacant Novartis manufacturing facility in Suffern, New York, that had been on the auction block for more than two years was sold for $18 million to a buyer who turned around and resold the property to a Manhattan-based developer for $30 million.

The pharmaceutical company sold the 162-acre campus that once manufactured tablets, capsules, vials and inhalation products to RS Old Mill earlier this month, the Journal News reported, citing county records. RS Old Mill then flipped the property to Suffern Partners, which is an affiliate of Bridgewater Capital Partners. The new owner has not said what it plans to do with the site.

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The drugmaker announced in 2014 it planned to shutter about 20 sites as part of a restructuring of its pharma division. The decision to close Suffern was in line with the company losing exclusivity on its patent for the blood-pressure drug Diovan, which had also seen a decline in demand.

The 162-acre facility once employed more than 500 people. The last 61 of the plant’s workers were let go in 2016.