Granules India announces $12.5M pharma facility

Indian pharmaceutical company Granules India Ltd. will invest $12.5 million to establish a pharmaceutical packaging operation in Prince William County, creating 57 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday.

Headquartered in Hyderabad, India, Granules India manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients and other related products, including acetaminophen, ibuprofen and guaifenesin, the main ingredient in Mucinex. Granules India serves brand and generic drug companies in more than 75 countries and has eight manufacturing facilities around the world. It has an existing pharmaceutical research and development facility in Fairfax with 130 employees.

Granules India will lease 79,000 square feet of the Parkway 66 property at 7413 Cushing Road in Manassas. It will build out packaging lines and clean rooms to package and ship products. The facility will be part of the company’s consumer health division, which was previously outsourced.

“Virginia continues to attract pharmaceutical manufacturing, and Granules India’s new packaging operation in Prince William County is an important addition to the pharmaceutical ecosystem in the commonwealth,” Youngkin said in a statement.“The company’s decision to expand its footprint in Virginia is a testament to our infrastructure and robust workforce, and we look forward to further development of this partnership.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Prince William County to secure the project. Former Gov. Ralph Northam approved a $200,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Prince William County with the project.

“The addition of a U.S. packaging facility will result in Granules being among the few pharmaceutical companies to be vertically integrated from API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) to packaging, which will bolster the robustness of Granules’ supply chain while also enabling the company to react even faster to consumers’ growing needs for pharmaceutical products,” said Krishna Prasad Chigurupati, Granules’ founder, chairman and managing director. “The company chose Virginia because of Prince William County’s responsiveness, which allowed Granules faster access to commercialization. In addition, Prince William offers a dynamic and diverse workforce that is eager to work along with the site’s proximity to several major seaports. Granules also chose to expand within Virginia to leverage its existing manufacturing footprint and workforce.”