With 80 New Jobs Already, Lupin Aims to Create Even More Opportunities at New Jersey Site
May 10, 2017
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
SOMERSET, N.J. – India-based Lupin , one of the world’s largest generic manufacturers, continues to plant its footprint in the United States. On Tuesday, the company celebrated the grand opening of a 100,000 square-foot expansion of its manufacturing facilities in Somerset.
Lupin began to make serious investments in the United States last year and has spent more than $1 billion on R&D and manufacturing so far, the company said. The bulk of those monies went to the acquisition of the New Jersey facility, which Lupin acquired in March 2016 for $880 million. In addition, Lupin has invested around $35 million in R&D and infrastructure, the company said in a statement.
Since the acquisition of the New Jersey plant, Lupin has created more than 80 jobs to support the site, bringing the total number of employees in Somerset up to 380. But, the company which is headquartered in Mumbai isn’t done hiring in New Jersey. The company expects to hire for about 50 more positions over the next year to 18 months.
The Somerset facility will focus on making affordable medicines for treatment in various therapeutic areas. Lupin focuses on developing branded and generic drugs in the cardiovascular, diabetic, asthma, pediatric, CNS, GI, anti-infective and NSAID spaces.
“In the last three years, we have made strategic investments in the U.S. in R&D and manufacturing to establish a deeper footprint in the country, and access technology capabilities for niche technology platforms,” Vinita Gupta, chief executive officer of Lupin Limited said in a statement. “This expansion enables us to serve the growing need for affordable medicines for U.S. patients, providers, government and other stakeholders.”
Kurt Nielsen, president of Lupin, said the Somerset facility enhances the company’s scale in the U.S. generic market. He said the New Jersey plant will serve as a complement to Lupin's Coral Springs, Fla., inhalation R&D center.
"We have set ambitious targets for ourselves in the U.S. market. This 10-fold expansion of our manufacturing site will enable us to meet and exceed our targets. We are confident that we will continue to grow, and look forward to creating additional opportunities which benefit our community.”
One space Lupin may be looking to expand is in inhalants. In March the company was rumored to be in talks with Sanofi to acquire Pulmojet, its dry powder inhalation brand, which is developed by its generic arm, Zentiva. According to reports the companies have been in talks for several months negotiating a deal for the product. Lupin sees this as a deal that will help the company sharpen its inhalant business.
In addition to Lupin’s facility, another Indian pharma company, Aurobindo , is expected to expand its manufacturing presence in New Jersey. Currently Aurobindo manufactures tablets at its New Jersey facility, but the company could expand it to develop injectables as well.