West-Ward Pharmaceuticals, a Columbus, Ohio-based generic prescription medication provider and a wholly owned subsidiary of Hikma Pharmaceuticals, an Amman, Jordan-based pharmaceutical company, has announced an expansion at its solid-dosage facility in Columbus, Ohio where it will be adding new machinery and equipment as well as making facility improvements. West-Ward will also add 65 jobs over the course of 2017, according to Columbus 2020, a private nonprofit economic development organization for the Columbus, Ohio region that is comprised of 20 economic development professionals and investors from private companies and public organizations, in an announcement issued jointly with Hikma.

The expansion will allow West-Ward to accommodate new and expanding product lines. West-Ward offers both oral solid and injectable pharmaceuticals to chain stores, wholesalers, distributors, health systems, and government agencies.

Hikma acquired the solid-dosage plant in Columbus from Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) in 2016 as part of its $1.5 billion acquisition of Roxane Laboratories Inc. and Boehringer Ingelheim Roxane Inc., the generic businesses of BI. The transaction includes a further contingent consideration of up to $224 million payable based on future performance, according to a Hikma spokesperson.

The acquisition adds to Hikma’s US generics portfolio, giving Hikma 88 products in specialized and niche segments of the market, including oncology, respiratory, extended-release, and controlled substances. It also adds 89 products to Hikma’s pipeline, including 57 Paragraph IV products, 13 of which are first-to-file opportunities. With the acquisition, Hikma incorporated the Columbus, Ohio solid-dosage facility into West-Ward.

West-Ward also has a 276,000-square-foot distribution facility in Obetz, Ohio for which it broke ground in 2016 and which will employ 30 people once complete. West-Ward currently employs 1,255 people in Columbus and has additional operations in Ohio, Tennessee, and New Jersey.

Source: Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Columbus 2020