Today Governor Tony Evers announced that Nexus Pharmaceuticals selected the Village of Pleasant Prairie for its first sterile drug manufacturing facility. Governor Evers made this announcement along with the owners of Nexus Pharmaceuticals, Mariam Darsot and Shahid Ahmed, Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser, Milwaukee 7 representative Jeff Ticknor, KABA President Todd Battle, and Village of Pleasant Prairie President John Steinbrink Sr. On Monday, July 15, the Pleasant Prairie Village Board will consider a formal approval of the Purchase and Sale Agreement between Nexus Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the Village in the amount of approximately for $3.2 million. This agreement is for the sale of 16 acres of property located at the northwest quadrant of County Highway Q and 128th Avenue in the Prairie Highlands Corporate Park development west of I-94.
Nexus Pharmaceuticals plans to construct a 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility at this location. Nexus Pharmaceuticals specializes in developing innovative processes to manufacture specialty and generic injectable drugs. The facility will support the production and supply of injectable drugs in an array of therapeutic areas including anesthesia, oncology, cardiovascular, and neurology. The company headquarters are located in Lincolnshire, IL, and Nexus is expanding its business with this manufacturing facility.
“We are honored Nexus Pharmaceuticals selected Prairie Highlands Corporate Park,” said Village Administrator Nathan Thiel, “Nexus will be an incredible asset to our community. They have an innovative, professional culture and represent the type of high-skill, research and development manufacturing we want to attract to the Village of Pleasant Prairie, Kenosha County, and Wisconsin."
This multi-phase, multi-year project is expected to be completed in ten years. Groundbreaking is planned for August 2019 and phase one construction is expected to be completed in 2021. Commercial production is expected to commence in 2022.
Phase one will consist of constructing an $85 million three-story manufacturing facility with cutting-edge technology including an advanced isolator system for maximum product protection and sterility; reducing the risk of contamination. The facility will also include multiple lyophilization (freeze-drying) machines to support production of Nexus’ current portfolio and robust pipeline of generic and specialty injectable drugs. The facility will create 77 new jobs in fields of high-tech manufacturing, analytical testing, quality control and supply chain management by 2022.
Since March of this year, the Village along with support from KABA and Milwaukee 7 have been working diligently to recruit Nexus to join the success of southeastern Wisconsin. "The Village is incredibly pleased to welcome Nexus Pharmaceuticals to Pleasant Prairie and southeastern Wisconsin,” said Village President John Steinbrink Sr., “I am confident that Nexus Pharmaceuticals will find the regional business community here to be a dynamic asset as it continues to grow."