Somerset, New Jersey-based Catalent has announced a $45 million expansion of its Madison facility which will create 200 new jobs and further boost Wisconsin’s efforts as a federal biohealth tech hub.
Catalent, a company specializing in drug development and manufacturing, plans to buy new equipment for its Madison plant, in addition to physically expanding the building.
Catalent leaders cited Wisconsin’s recent federal designation as a biohealth tech hub as the reason the company opted to expand in Madison, according to an announcement from the governor’s office.
Over the first 10 years, the state’s biohealth tech hub is projected to create more than 30,000 jobs in the personalized medicine sector and over 111,000 indirect jobs.
“We are proud to expand our operations in Wisconsin, a growing hub for innovation and collaboration, enabling us to advance the important work we do for pharma and biotech customers and the patients they serve,” said David McErlane, Catalent group president of biologics. “We have enjoyed a supportive business environment and access to skilled talent in Madison, and we look forward to Catalent’s continued presence and growth in Wisconsin.”
Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. have authorized up to $2 million in performance-based tax credits to support the project.
The amount of money Catalent will receive depends on the number of jobs the company creates and how much money it invests.
This is the fourth time the state has awarded tax credits to Catalent. Previous awards include nearly $1 million in tax credits in fiscal year 2011, plus $1 million in credits in fiscal year 2017 for a $33 million expansion that created nearly 400 jobs. The government also awarded $1.3 million in tax credits for a $75 million expansion project in fiscal year 2019 that has created more than 210 jobs.
Catalent’s Madison facility is home to the company’s GPEx Lightning cell line technology, which is used to create high-yielding mammalian cell lines that are genetically modified to create large quantities of a desired protein.
