Novartis plans to close a Sandoz plant in North Carolina

FILE PHOTO: Swiss drugmaker Novartis' logo is seen in Stein

ZURICH (Reuters) - Pharmaceuticals company Novartis plans to close a Sandoz generics plant in Wilson, North Carolina, around the end of 2023, it said on Friday, citing inability to use the U.S. site to full capacity.

The site with about 246 employees specialises in producing pharmaceutical oral solid dosage products for distribution mostly in U.S. and Canadian markets.

It said the decision to close the site had come before it announced a strategic review of Sandoz, which it plans to spin off to sharpen the group's focus on patented prescription medicines.

(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by David Goodman)