Catalent Pharma Solutions' $52 Million Expansion Brings Hundreds of New Jobs to Kentucky
April 16, 2015
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Somerset, N.J.-based Catalent Pharma Solutions announced yesterday that it will invest $62 million to its Winchester, Ky. facilities, which will create 300 jobs. Recently the company completed an expansion of its Enterprise Drive facility, which added 80,000 square feet, cost $52 million and created 140 full-time jobs.
“Catalent’s decision to grow its Kentucky footprint is fantastic news, especially when you consider the impact of the 450 full-time jobs it is bringing to the region,” said Lt. Governor Crit Luallan at yesterday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Kentucky is proud to have Catalent choose Winchester for this opportunity, and we wish the company continued success and prosperity.”
Catalent Pharma Solutions is a business unit of Catalent, Inc. (CTLT), a global company that develops and markets drugs, biologics and consumer health products. Worldwide, Catalent employs about 8,500 people, including 1,000 scientists, at 30 facilities across five continents. In 2014 the company reported more than $1.8 billion in revenue.
The newly opened facility has installed fluid bed capacity, larger analytical laboratories, and an advanced, open facility. The expansion was in response to the demand for complex, oral solid formulations. To date, the Winchester site had manufactured over 3 billion tablets and capsules and launched more than 100 new products.
As incentive, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority provided preliminary approval for tax incentives up to $4.5 million through the Kentucky Business Investment Program. It also approved tax benefits up to $700,000 via the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act. This lets companies recoup state sales and use tax on various construction costs and equipment.
“The Winchester facility has grown through its continued investment in technical expertise and capability, and through employing a flexible business model to support tailored manufacturing solutions for its customers,” said John Chiminski, company president and chief executive officer at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This flexibility, along with our proven track record of success with technology transfers and product launches, has clearly driven increased demand for manufacturing services at Winchester, and our latest capacity expansion allows us to manufacture substantial marketed products for both new and existing customers.”
Catalent announced on March 30, 2015, that it had acquired Pharmapak Technologies, a pharmaceutical packaging company based in New South Wales, Australia. This deal provides its existing facility in Braeside, Victoria with regional packaging capabilities. The Braeside facility manufactures oral dose products like softgels, Vegicaps capsules, and OptiShell capsules, which are delivered throughout Asia Pacific.
Catalent will continue to operate Pharmapak under that name and keep the approximately 100 employees, as well as its leadership team at its existing facility in Dee Why, New South Wales. “Catalent has made substantial recent investments in Asia Pacific,” said Mark Bisset, president of Catalent Asia Pacific in a statement, “with a new facility in China, and last year we celebrated our 40th years in Japan with a new laboratory and the build-out of more manufacturing capacity.”
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