August 10, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority approved Dublin-headquartered Allergan ’s application for Grow New Jersey tax breaks and incentives worth more than $58 million.
Allergan Sales, the company’s U.S. subsidiary, is planning to use the funds to create a new U.S. headquarters in Madison, New Jersey by the end of next year. The new facility will be 431,495 square feet. The announcement to build was made shortly after the Development Authority voted to approve the $58.2 million, 10-year award.
Allergan presently has U.S. headquarters in Parsippany, New Jersey, with additional offices in Bridgewater, Jersey City, and Rockaway, New Jersey.
“With its highly skilled pharma talent, research-focused universities, many leading health care systems, rich pool of biopharmaceutical innovators and access to capital markets, New Jersey remains a strong fit for Allergan, and we are proud to continue to be a part of New Jersey’s vibrant health care ecosystem,” said Brent Saunders, Allergan’s chief executive officer and president, in a statement. “The combination of these operations brings together key functions of our organization into a single location and will help us maximize efficiency, enhance collaboration and build stronger bridges between our colleagues as we continue to develop and deliver innovative products for patients around the world.”
Allergan was also evaluating a location in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.
The Economic Development Authority estimates that the project will provide $385.1 million in net benefits to the state of New Jersey over the next 20 years.
“Allergan is a significant employer in New Jersey, and its presence adds to the state’s leadership in the pharmaceutical sector,” said Melissa Orsen, the EDA’s chief executive officer, in a statement. “Encouraging investment and growth in targeted industries, including life sciences, is one of the primary objectives of the Grow NJ program.”
The EDA also indicates that the tax breaks would keep 1,019 workers in New Jersey, and bring on an additional 300 full-time jobs. With its activities spread over four sites in New Jersey, Allergan plans to consolidate the operations. The company has more than 7,500 employees spread across 20 locations in the U.S.
The new site in Madison is at Giralda Farms, formerly the estate of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge. Allergan will invest more than $103 million in the location.
In order to utilize the Grow NJ tax breaks, Allergan has to abandon $15.2 million in tax incentives that was given to its Forest Laboratories subsidiaries in Jersey City, and Watson Pharmaceuticals in Parsippany.
The EDA also awarded a 10-year Grow NJ grant for over $3.7 million for contract research organization (CRO) PsychoGenics, which is headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, but has a laboratory in Montvale, New Jersey with 35 employees. PsychoGenics applied for the tax break in order to consolidate operations at a 65,000-square-foot location in Paramus, New Jersey. That would keep the 35 employees in New Jersey and bring on another 82 full-time jobs. The EDA indicates those jobs would have a median annual salary of approximately $83,200. PsychoGenics plans to invest $5.5 million in the new location.
