By Joshua Burd
One of the world’s largest generic pharmaceutical companies has found a new U.S. headquarters outside Princeton with the help of a tax credit award under the state’s Emerge program.
The company, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc., is set to lease 100,000 square feet at 750 College Road East in Plainsboro after being approved for the seven-year, $5.236 million subsidy to support its expansion in New Jersey. The new location will create 220 new jobs and keep hundreds of others in the state, according to the Economic Development Authority, including the 230 that are at its current headquarters in the Princeton submarket.
“New Jersey has long been the medicine chest to the world, helping bring lifesaving pharmaceuticals to the marketplace,” Gov. Phil Murphy said. “Securing a new headquarters location for Sun Pharma is another mile marker in our state’s history and a sign that New Jersey continues to be at the forefront of health care innovation. The increased economic activity created by Sun Pharma will help bolster our economy and build a stronger future for the Garden State.”
Sun Pharma engages in pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing and is the fourth-largest specialty generic pharmaceutical company in the world, state officials said. The drugmaker has more than 600 employees already working at locations across New Jersey, including its existing Princeton headquarters and facilities in Cranbury and New Brunswick, and has been scouting new sites large enough to house several hundred additional employees.
The EDA said the company, which has made several recent acquisitions, had considered an alternate site in Horsham, Pennsylvania. But the approval of the Emerge tax credits is a material factor in its decision to choose New Jersey, as are the state’s talent pool and proximity to colleges and universities.
“Governor Murphy’s commitment to supporting New Jersey’s life sciences industry is keeping the Garden State competitive, helping grow our economy and create new, good-paying jobs,” said Tim Sullivan, the EDA’s chief executive. “From Genmab to Sun Pharma, the Emerge program is having a major impact on cutting-edge companies choosing to do business in New Jersey. Along with our talent pool and prime location, New Jersey is poised to welcome more innovators and entrepreneurs to our state.”
Sun Pharma’s products cater to a vast range of therapeutic segments covering psychiatry, anti-infectives, neurology, cardiology, diabetology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, nephrology, urology, dermatology, gynecology, respiratory, oncology, dental, and nutritional, according to a news release. It has more than 41,000 employees in 100 locations worldwide, while its recent global revenue is $5.8 billion.
In the U.S., it has nine offices with 1,527 employees.
“With our long history as a valued corporate member of the state of New Jersey and the Princeton community, Sun Pharma is proud to participate in the Emerge program,” Sun Pharma North America CEO Abhay Gandhi said. “As we continue to bolster investments in our innovative medicines, generics and consumer medicines businesses, we look forward to seeing the positive impact our growth will have for New Jersey, the Princeton community and the patients we support.”
The Emerge program will award $748,000 in tax credits yearly for seven years, totaling $5.236 million, to support the opening of Sun Pharma’s new headquarters at 750 College Road East, the EDA said. As part of the program’s requirements, the company will also remain in New Jersey for at least 11 years.
The new headquarters will house a total of 450 corporate jobs, almost doubling the number of employees at its current headquarters. Officials added that the high-end office space will help attract top-level talent and allow Sun Pharma remain competitive in the industry by including modern infrastructure, new, upscale technology and a collaborative work environment to fuel innovation.
Created under the New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020, the Emerge program allows small to large businesses, as well as nonprofits, to apply for tax credits to support projects that meet minimum capital investment, job creation or retention and other requirements when competing with another state.
