Action taken by the Board of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) will help advance one of the key legislative objectives of the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) – driving growth in targeted industries. Potential investment in the manufacturing sector was highlighted at the EDA’s Board meeting, as three manufacturers of pharmaceutical products were approved for Grow New Jersey (Grow NJ) tax credits to either locate or expand in New Jersey. Grow NJ is the main job creation and retention program administered under the EOA.
“Manufacturers choose to locate in New Jersey for its convenient location and highly-skilled labor pool, and the State is home to 13 out of 20 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies,” said EDA Chief Executive Officer Melissa Orsen. “This ecosystem is a natural fit for these hybrid companies whose sweet spot falls where the two sectors meet.”
Orsen noted that under Grow NJ, targeted industries include manufacturing, technology and life sciences, finance, logistics, and energy. To date, more than 70 percent of tax credits approved are for projects in a targeted industry, and of those, more than 43 percent are in the manufacturing sector.
The three projects approved today are associated with the creation of nearly 200 new jobs and private investment totaling over $20.7 million.
In Middlesex County, Eywa Pharma Inc., a subsidiary of a Singapore-based generic pharmaceutical company, may establish its first US operation in an existing 52,626-square-foot facility in Cranbury Township. The company, which is deciding between New Jersey and Wayne, Pennsylvania, would create 34 new jobs and invest more than $14.5 million in its new location.
Considering a relocation from Brooklyn to Ocean County, Geri-Care Pharmaceuticals Corp., a manufacturer and distributor of liquid and solid-dose over the counter generics and supplements, would lease 50,000 square feet of an existing facility in Lakewood. The company expects to create more than 130 new jobs and invest more than $1.3 million in the expansion of its manufacturing capacity if New Jersey is chosen over a competing location in Gulfport, Mississippi.
In Camden County, Aptapharma, Inc. is considering expanding and upgrading its existing facility in Pennsauken, rather than relocating its manufacturing facility to Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The company, which offers oral drug delivery technologies and provides product development services for the pharmaceutical industry, would invest approximately $4.9 million in the expansion of its current facility, growing from 29,000 square feet to 43,000 square feet. Aptapharma’s increased capacity would involve the creation of 35 new positions, while retaining 40 jobs at risk of leaving the State.
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