The pharmaceutical company recently won FDA approval to package drugs at its Lehigh Valley plant.
Gov. Tom CorbettCorbett said the Japanese-owned company’s decision to increase capacity here demonstrates the attractiveness of Pennsylvania’s business climate, noting the state is within one day’s drive of 60 percent of the country’s population.
“If I want to distribute something, this is a good place to do business,” Corbett said at a ceremony at Daiichi’s Baglyos Circle plant in Bethlehem Township, Pa.
Daiichi recently won Food and Drug Administration approval to package drugs at LVIP VI, a commitment the company says will double its work force from about 40 to 80 by the end of the year.
Previously the company outsourced those operations at sites across North America. LVIP VI will now be the company’s packaging hub for the United States; it has domestic headquarters in Parsippany, N.J.
"The United States is integral to our company's overall success," Joji Nakayama, CEO of the parent company based in Tokyo, said.
In addition, Daiichi said it will begin manufacturing drugs at its Lehigh Valley site, though that commitment is still about three years away.
About half the company’s 140,000-square-foot LVIP VI building is unused and can accommodate expansion. Daiichi makes cardiovascular and metabolic drugs.