Nexus Pharmaceuticals Inc. plans to build its first sterile injectable drug manufacturing facility in Pleasant Prairie.
The Lincolnshire, Illinois-based pharmaceutical company this afternoon revealed details of a $250 million, multi-phase project expected to be completed within 10 years in Pleasant Prairie. As part of the first phase, Nexus will invest $85 million in a new 100,000-square-foot, three-story production operation, construction of which will begin in August and finish by 2021.
As part of this first phase, Nexus plans to hire 77 workers for high-tech production, engineering, quality control and supply chain management. The average annual salary of these workers will be $70,000.
Commercial production at the facility is expected to begin in 2022.
Nexus’ plans were announced during a news conference in Pleasant Prairie, where company officials were accompanied by Gov. Tony Evers, Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser, Pleasant Prairie Board president John Steinbrink, Kenosha Area Business Alliance president Todd Battle and representatives of Milwaukee 7.
The facility will be built on a 16-acre parcel in the Prairie Highlands Corporate Park, located along Interstate 94 north of Highway 165. Nexus will join German candy manufacturer Haribo, health care provider Advocate Aurora, IT firm OFFSITE as the initial park tenants. The corporate park is being developed on land the village purchased from Abbott Laboratories in 2017.
“This investment is needed to drive the continued growth of the U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing industry,” Mariam Darsot, Nexus chief executive officer, said. “There is increasing patient demand for high quality and accessible generic injections. The addition of our Wisconsin facility will enable Nexus to produce a more stable and reliable supply of sterile injectables, a category that is particularly susceptible to drug shortages.”
In addition to the 77 jobs being created at Nexus’ new manufacturing plant, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. estimates the project will indirectly generate 134 additional jobs. Altogether, those 211 new jobs are expected to generate up to $512,000 annually in state income-tax revenue.
The construction phase could directly support another 237 jobs and a total of 379 direct and indirect jobs.
“This is one of the most significant pharmaceutical investments in Wisconsin in years,” Evers said. “Southeast Wisconsin is increasingly becoming a destination of choice for high-value manufacturing jobs that require a skilled, educated workforce.”
Nexus produces specialty and generic injectable drugs used by hospitals throughout the U.S. The company, formed in 2003, has nine FDA-approved lifesaving medications and six commercially available generic injectables used in 2,500 hospitals and health care facilities. Its products include several recent launches of first-to-market FDA-approved generic drugs.
The company will receive $1.5 million in state income tax credits over the next four years from WEDC. The actual amount of tax credits to be awarded is contingent upon the number of jobs created and amount of capital investment during that four-year period. It will also receive support from Kenosha County’s High Impact Fund.
“Nexus brings the high-value job opportunities that our region seeks and can capably support. The company’s decision to invest here highlights — once again — our success in attracting companies that require skilled knowledge workers,” Gale Klappa, co-chair of M7 and executive chairman of WEC Energy Group.
