LI drugmaker's plan would create 400 jobs

A Hauppauge-based drug company expects to start in the coming weeks refitting a 250,000-square-foot facility in Central Islip that will enable it to double its workforce, bringing almost 400 jobs to the town over five years.

InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Wednesday closed on its deal to purchase the 16-acre property at 550 S. Research Way, company and town officials confirmed Thursday. The company has agreed to honor the leases of four existing tenants, which include the property vendor, Creative Bath Products Inc.

Construction will start as soon as Islip Town grants building permits, company vice president Madhava Reddy said. "We hope that means the first or second week of February," he said.

InvaGen, which manufactures mostly generic prescription medicines and employs 330 people at three sites in Hauppauge, will convert the existing building into a combined research laboratory, manufacturing and packaging facility.

The purchase price and renovation together are costing the company $20 million, Reddy said, though the company expects to invest another $19 million in additional equipment and research as it prepares to become fully operational in five years.

InvaGen has pledged to hire 350 new employees to the facility by then in return for almost $6 million in assistance from the state and town.

The town predicts 60 construction jobs will result from the project during the initial renovation, said Islip's economic development director, Bill Mannix.

East Islip-based LMJ Contracting is the general contractor for the site, Reddy said. The property is hooked up to sewers and accommodates parking for 450 cars.

The state is giving the company nearly $2 million in tax credits through its jobs program run by the Empire State Development Corp.; and InvaGen will receive $3.8 million in tax exemptions, mostly property taxes, over 12 years.

In its application for assistance from the Islip Industrial Development Agency, the company predicted its new employees would be paid an average salary of $50,000 and pledged to hire 150 workers within the first two years.

The final jobs figure is contingent on InvaGen receiving approval from the federal Food and Drug Administration before it can proceed with commercial drug production, Reddy said.

"Once we have completed the renovation, we will be seeking a site inspection from the FDA," he said.

InvaGen will receive the state tax credits only after it meets the job requirements under the agreement with the state.