Pharmaceutical manufacturer’s $91M Columbia expansion exceeds hiring expectations

Ritedose Corporations

By Cassie Cornwell – postandcourier.com

COLUMBIA — What started as an $81 million expansion for Ritedose Corporations has ended up costing them $94 million, the president and CEO said. Ritedose, a contract manufacturer for other pharmaceutical companies and a manufacturer of generic medicines, specializes in Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) sterilization technology, CEO Jody Chastain said.

The company’s planned expansion in the Columbia area at Performance Park is expected to cost an additional $40 million in the coming 12 to 18 months. The facility is located off Interstate 77 just north of Farrow Road.The goal with Performance Park was to create 100 new jobs for the company, which they have been able to surpass.

“I’m excited for the employees to be able to see the facility, to be able to understand that we’re continuing to invest in the future for them and for the patients,” Chastain told The Post and Courier.

The land that Performance Park is located on was a part of a purchase of 105 acres of land. Ritedose has about 85 acres to utilize for its expansion.
In the next three months, Ritedose will begin to work within the Performance Park facility to create an $11 million lab.

This facility will help support the company’s manufacturing operations and blow-fill-seal technology (BFS).The expansion will allow Ritdose to go from producing 1.5 billion doses of respiratory and ophthalmic medications per year to being able to produce two point 6 billion doses per year.

Ritedose’s first entry into the Columbia market was a show-place to sell BFS machines. This helped the company be able to “form an actual powerhouse of a generic manufacturing company as well as a branded manufacturing company for contract development,” Chastain said.

Columbia is unique for a few reasons, he added. One being its access to international airports and the Port of Charleston, which helps with supply chain operations and when buying equipment overseas. It’s also in close proximity to the University of South Carolina’s School of Pharmacy and Clemson University.

Ritedose wants to educate people in South Carolina to see you can go to school here, stay here and get a high paying job in the pharmaceutical industry. Columbia is conveniently located in the state, which makes it easy to sell. South Carolina has a growing life sciences industry, with it growing 42 percent since 2017. Life sciences represents biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

“Not only is there a singular area in Columbia for life sciences but the entire state is open for life sciences,” Chastain said. “It’s almost like we are a state of life science, not a local Midlands life sciences hub.”

Ritedose emphasizes company culture, Ritedose prides themselves on creating a culture “where people … want to be here,” Chastain said.
One of Ritedose core values is to “see beyond ourselves and work for the greater good,” Chastain said. “And we do that. We live out over values every day.”

Ritedose has done this in the past by embracing Homeless No More, the rapid shelter in South Carolina and their partnership with American Heart Association. They offers scholarships for the USC’s School of Pharmacy. They also just launched “1000 hours of service,” which gives their employees the opportunity to take eight hours of paid time off for volunteer time.

Chastain believes “that blessed people bless people, and that blessed organizations should bless the community.” “We have found that people want to give back, but they don’t know how to give back,” the CEO said. “And they don’t know where the opportunity lies for them to make an impact.”

Chastain said Ritedose wants to not only provide job stability to their employees but provide for them holistically.
He envisions this being done by offering classes in the evenings or on the weekends for things like personal finance.
The next expansion to be seen will be the lab inside of the Performance Park facility.

No further expansions are planned yet, but Ritedose has 85 acres surrounding Performance Park for future growth.