Elanco Animal Health

Elanco is a global company that provides products and services to support livestock production and improve companion animal health.

In 1953, Eli Lilly and Company introduced its first antibiotic for veterinary use. A year later, in 1954, the company officially expanded with its Agricultural and Industrial Sales Division. The goal of this new division was to work on developing products to improve crop and animal production through increased growth and health.

Expansion came quickly throughout the 1950s, with Lilly making multiple big additions to the division. Anticipating its growth, Lilly in 1955 purchased land next to its Biological Laboratories of Greenfield, which the company built in 1913. Construction on the land began soon after its purchase, and the 156-acre Agricultural and Veterinary Medicine Research Center opened in 1959.

Lilly also purchased Corn State Laboratories, of Omaha, Nebraska, in 1956. Corn State was a leading producer of hog cholera serum used to treat the disease also known as swine fever, which is a highly contagious and often fatal disease affecting pigs. It also was a national distributor of other veterinary products. With these additions, Lilly expanded its offerings of veterinary pharmaceuticals.

One of the company’s most successful products, Stilbosol (Diethylstilbestrol), was licensed from Iowa State University in the late 1950s. This feed additive for cattle worked by rapidly increasing weight gain. By 1966, the product was being used in 85 percent of feedlot cattle.

With a new decade, came a new name and more growth. In 1960, Lilly reorganized the division and gave it a new name, Elanco Products Company (The name was made up of the first letters of “Eli Lilly and Company.”).

During the 1960s, Elanco expanded its presence both throughout the United States and globally with new agricultural units and regional offices. In 1965, the company combined with Corvel, Inc. of Omaha, Nebraska, a company that specialized in veterinary health products. The research facility in Greenfield was extended to 700 acres. Here they created Hygromix (Hygromycin B), an antibiotic to control the spread of intestinal worms in swine, as well as herbicides like Dymin and Treflan. Elanco also began creating products for homeowners and gardeners in addition to their industrial products.

By the 1980s, Elanco was connected with nearly 40 global affiliates and had also increased its number of manufacturing locations. During this time, the company began to shift towards the more financially stable farm and companion animal health portion of its business. It did not completely abandon the crop side of the business, however.

In 1989, Elanco entered into a joint agricultural chemical partnership with Dow Chemical, creating DowElanco. This partnership lasted until 1997 when Lilly sold its share to Dow Chemical, which then changed the name to Dow Agrisciences.

By the end of the 1990s, Elanco officially moved towards exclusively focusing on animal health. To mark this, its name was changed to Elanco Animal Health.

Despite narrowing its focus to animal products and services, Elanco maintained its levels of vigorous growth throughout the early 2000s. In 2007, the company’s Greenfield location received a new global headquarters campus. That same year, it acquired Ivy Animal Health, a privately held applied research and pharmaceutical development company, and ventured into the pet product business.

Over the next several years, Elanco acquired more companies to strengthen and diversify its portfolio. This included the Animal Health Division of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary located in Belgium (2011); ChemGen, a company specializing in animal feed enzymes (2012); Lohmann Animal Health, a global leader in poultry vaccines (2014); portions of Novartis Animal Health including a flea infestation treatment and inflammatory and dermatological products for dogs and cats but not its flea preventative Sentinel (2015); and a platform of rabies vaccines from Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (2016).

After several years of financial losses, Lilly made the decision to spin off Elanco into its own independent company. Elanco was officially separated from Lilly in September 2018 with a listing on the New York Stock exchange. A year later, the now independent Elanco announced their plans to acquire Bayer Animal Health in a move to secure the company’s status as a leader in the global animal health market. The acquisition increased Elanco’s role as a producer of products in the pet/companion animal market. In 2019, the company established the Elanco Foundation, the first charitable foundation established for animal health. Elanco’s acquisition of Bayer was completed on August 3, 2020.

In December 2020, Elanco Animal Health announced its acquisition of the former GM stamping plant, just south of the Indianapolis Zoo, where it will locate its headquarters for global operations. The State of Indiana purchased the 91-acre former industrial site from Ambrose Property Group in a $25.5 million deal. Ambrose had intended to use the site for an ambitious 103-acre multi-use development that never materialized. Elanco acquired 45 of the 91 acres in a deal valued at $12.6 million.

The City of Indianapolis viewed Elanco’s arrival as an opportunity to expand its downtown boundaries across the White River.  At least 10 acres along the future Elanco headquarters eastern border will allow for expansion of White River State Park and improvements to the river and its western banks. A new two-way bridge for vehicles at Henry Street will increase accessibility to the site. A pedestrian bridge is planned across Oliver Street, which will serve as a gateway to downtown Indianapolis proper and eliminate the river as a barrier to the future development of the riverfront. With these infrastructure improvements, the city anticipates future mixed-use development that prioritizes connectivity, livability, and seamless integration with adjacent neighborhoods directly south and southwest of the Elanco headquarters.

Elanco expects to break ground on the projected $300 million in 2021, with the completion of construction within two to three years. The company’s consolidation of operations will scale down its current footprint in Greenfield. More than 1,000 employees will be at the new headquarters in a smaller but more efficient campus aimed at providing a cost-saving to Elanco.