Update: Medical Manufacturer Coming to Lexington County

Officials from Orlando-based Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corp., along with Gov. Nikki Haley and other state and local government officials, announced Friday morning the company  will construct a facility in Lexington County within the next couple of years that will create at least 707 high-paying jobs.

The total investment is anticipated to be $313 million, said company owners William and Lou Kennedy, both graduates of the University of South Carolina, where the announcement was made in an early morning press conference on the school's historic Horseshoe.

CEO Lou Kennedy, a Lexington native, told Patch that the average salary for jobs at the new facility would likely be at least $70,000.

Nephron produces generic respiratory medications, such as albuterol. With a capacity of over 100 million doses monthly, it serves patients worldwide.The company’s products are available to retail pharmacies, hospitals, home care companies, long-term care facilities, mail-order pharmacies, and various other customers. Nephron is headquartered in Orlando, and has distribution centers in Kentucky and Arizona.

The new pharmaceutical campus will be located near Cayce, in the same industrial park that houses the recently opened Amazon distribution center.

Lexington County Council chairman Jim Kinard, as well as Lexington Mayor Randy Halfacre, both told Patch the development was a "game-changer" that rivals and may even surpass Amazon in terms of its economic and overall impact on the county.

"And I expect it will be a whole lot more than 700 jobs by the time it's finished," Kinard said. 

"You're really talking about a real game-changer," Halfacre said. "I think when you factor in Amazon, which is a warehouse, more blue-collar worker place maybe, then you factor this company in in the same location that has more professional degreed workers such as pharmacists and scientists, you have a stratosphere for a lot of opportunity for a lot of people. It really is a game-changer; that [phrase] might be overused, but it really definitely is true.

"Locally," Halfacre said, "it may even be bigger than Amazon in a way. … It's a great day in South Carolina!"

In addition to manufacturing, managerial, and clerical positions, the jobs will include such positions as pharmacists, engineers and biochemists, among other occupations.

Kennedy said insurance concerns, the need for geographic diversity of operations, a competitive marketplace and state incentives were key in her and her husband's decision to build in Lexington County. Plus, the site that will be used is completely ready to be built upon, pending permitting and other regulatory hurdles, she told Patch.

And then, of course, there are the hometown ties as well. Both Kennedys graduated from USC, and the pair donated millions to the school to create the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center at the university. 

"Our home is in Florida, but our heart is in South Carolina," said Lou Kennedy. "I'm from Lexington. I went to Lexington High School. My parents live in Lexington. I'm a Lexington girl."

Original post: Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corp. is expected to announce today that it will expand its operations to Lexington County, The State reports.

The manufacturer is expected to create 300 jobs and be located in an industrial park near Cayce that houses the recently opened Amazon distribution center, according to the report.

"In time, some officials said, Nephron’s investment could be similar to the $200 million expansion that tire maker Michelin is undertaking at its plant near Lexington," the paper said.