Biotech company to expand in county
Less than two years after relocating its headquarters within Westchester County, Acorda Therapeutics Inc. plans to add 90 jobs following a $6 million expansion this year on the Ardsley Park life science campus in the town of Greenburgh.
Acorda, a 16-year-old biotechnology company that develops drug treatments for multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and other neurological disorders, in summer 2012 moved its growing operations and workforce from Hawthorne to Biomed Realty Trust”™s 43-acre campus outside Ardsley. There Acorda initially leased 138,000 square feet of office and laboratory space at 410 and 420 Saw Mill River Road, where it pledged to create about 190 new jobs over five years in exchange for more than $6.3 million in tax credits and tax exemptions from the state and county.
The company already has run out of space on the Ardsley campus, attorney Janet J. Giris told the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency board at its Tuesday meeting. Acorda is looking to lease an additional 25,500 square feet of space at 440 Saw Mill River Road, she said.
Susan Veres, Acorda”™s facilities management and purchasing director, said the company moved to Ardsley with 157 employees and had grown to 282 employees by the end of 2013. The average annual salary at Acorda is $137,000, she said.
The county IDA granted Acorda exemptions on sales and use taxes for materials purchased and equipment leased during the build-out of the new facility. Giris said those project purchases will amount to about $3.8 million.
Acorda last month reported net income in 2013 of $16.4 million, or 39 cents per diluted share. The company in 2012 had net income of $155 million, which included a $132.7 million non-recurring tax benefit.
Sales of Ampyra, Acorda”™s oral tablets used by multiple sclerosis patients to improve walking, generated net revenue of $84.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, compared with $72.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. Acorda reported Ampyra net revenue of $302.6 million for 2013, up from $266.1 million in 2012.
Dr. Ron Cohen, founding president and CEO of Acorda, in the February financial report said the company has six clinical-stage programs in its development pipeline. It is preparing this year to launch Plumiaz, its proposed brand name for diazepam nasal spray, if the drug, used to control cluster seizures in epileptics, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Cohen in a press release told Acorda investors the company finished 2013 “in a strong financial position with growing revenues and close to $370 million in cash. This puts the company in an enviable position to deliver value to shareholders by advancing our pipeline and acquiring additional assets.”