Amneal Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals based in Hauppauge, N.Y., is investing $120 million in physical plant capital expenditures from 2012-2014 to significantly grow its operations at three of its six current U.S. R&D, manufacturing and distribution facilities.

Planned site expansions and infrastructure enhancement projects will create over 500 new jobs in manufacturing, R&D, distribution and sales at Amneal locations in New York, New Jersey and Kentucky. The facility enlargements and resulting jobs increase will generate an estimated $21 million per year in additional payroll and other benefits to local economies. The company now employs over 1100 people in the United States.

“This major investment in our U.S. operations will more than double Amneal’s production volume and add hundreds of jobs while maintaining our dedication to superior quality in our products as well as throughout our organization," said Chintu Patel, CEO of Amneal. “It enables us to significantly diversify our generics portfolio, further expanding the value we provide our customers.”

Founded in 2002 by brothers Chintu and Chirag Patel, along with their father, Kanu Patel, Amneal has built a diverse portfolio of prescription and over-the-counter drugs across multiple therapeutic areas—pain management, cardiovascular, central nervous system, urology, dermatology, ophthalmic, women’s health and diabetes—in a variety of dosage forms. The capital investment in its manufacturing plants and other facilities will support the firm’s expansion into new products such as high potency medications, controlled substances and softgel capsules; new dosage forms including transdermal patches and injectables; and new therapeutic areas like oncology. Driving further expansion in the U.S. market, Amneal is committed to spending 15%-20% of annual revenue on R&D, while the industry norm is 5%-6%.

“We clearly understand the value of, and are fully committed to, investing and growing within the market we serve, significantly expanding our number of ‘Made in the USA’ products,” said Chirag Patel, president of Amneal. “Generic pharmaceuticals ensure the lowest cost of medications to help make healthcare more affordable to all consumers.”

Last fall the Patels’ accomplishments were recognized with the Ernst & Young 2011 National Entrepreneur of the Year life sciences award.