EDA Denies $7M In Tax Credits Requested By Moorestown Firm

MOORESTOWN, NJ — The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) has denied $7 million in tax incentives for a Moorestown-based firm.

The EDA denied Integrated Medication Management’s (IMM) NJ Grow application to receive tax incentives to expand to a larger building in Pennsauken, according to a copy of the denial letter obtained by Patch.

“EDA staff cannot recommend that the applicant demonstrated that the Grow NJ will be a material factor to locate the business in NJ,” EDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan wrote in a letter to EDA members.

NJ Grow is an EDA program that offers significant tax credits to companies for them to keep their business in-state. IMM requested $7.3 million in tax breaks over a period of 10 years.

Moorestown-based Bayada Home Health Care is the majority owner of the company at a little more than 63 percent. Missouri-based Integrity Pharmacy owns the remaining shares.

A representative from Bayada had no comment when reached by Patch Friday morning.

The company submitted the application in January of last year to expand to a site in Pennsauken. It had been deciding between sites in Pennsauken and Southampton, Pa., according to the letter.

The Pennsauken site is about 19,800 square feet, while the Pennsylvania site is about 19,400 square feet. Both sites had 9,000 square feet that were “immediately available,” according to the letter. Its current home in Moorestown is about 5,600 square feet with 26 contracted employees. It leases the space from Bayada.

The new site is not a store, and wouldn’t be open to the public. The company would have to purchase machinery, and expected to create about 134 jobs.

The one-time upfront cost for moving to the Pennsauken site is $293,972, with ongoing costs checking in at $6,687,454.The one-time upfront cost for the Pennsylvania site is $214,772, with ongoing costs expected to be $6,622,058, according to the letter.

Although the site in Pennsylvania would be cheaper over a period of 10-15 years, the EDA believes its close and intertwined relationship with Bayada would be the biggest factor in the selection of a site, as opposed to the tax incentives.

Integrated Medication Management is currently based in Moorestown. It combines in-home clinical visits with pharmacy services to improve adherence to medication among its patients. Healthcare professionals then monitor and deliver pre-packaged medication directly to the patients.

It launched in November 2017 with 500 patients and quickly grew to 1,000 patients by the following April. As of January 2019, when it made its application for tax credits, it serviced 1,800 patients, according to the letter.

Bayada provides about 80 percent of the firm’s patients, and has three of the five members on the board of directors.