A Greenwood pharmaceutical firm plans to build a $28 million production facility and create 70 jobs within the next five years to develop a form of insulin.

The 50,000-square-foot facility would be built by Elona Biotechnologies on Greenwood’s east side and could serve as an anchor to a biotech park, the Daily Journal newspaper of Johnson County reported Tuesday morning.

City officials are considering offering up to $8.5 million in incentives, including loans to construct the building and to help the company get Food and Drug Administration approval, the newspaper said. Elona also could be eligible for a city grant to purchase equipment.

The insulin Elona is developing can be produced more quickly and less expensively than other forms, which would give the product a cost advantage over competing drugs, according to the Daily Journal.

Elona, which conducts contract research and development for drug companies, has roughly a dozen scientists and several support staff. It was founded in the late 1980s by former Eli Lilly and Co. researcher Ron Zimmerman.

In 2008, it was named by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. as one of 50 “Companies to Watch.”