OCTOBER 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 21
PRESS BUSINESS
Far from pausing during the pandemic, Long Island’s pill-making industry has been going into overdrive. (Getty Images)
SMALL PHARMA SUCCESS
LI GENERIC, OVER-THE-COUNTER PILL BIZ BOOMS
BY CLAUDE SOLNIK
Long Island may not be home to big pharma brands like Johnson & Johnson, Pfi zer or
Sanofi , but when it comes to generic drugs, over-the-counter medications, and nutritional
supplements, the region is a massive pill manufacturing center – and it’s getting bigger.
Far from pausing during the pandemic, Long Island’s pill-making industry has been
going into overdrive, adding manufacturing to feed the nation’s insatiable appetite for
medications and supplements. And that means hiring, investing in technology, and
building in a kind of pill boom.
Generics, drugs made when original products go off patent, are at the core of the growth,
typically providing cheaper options under manufacturer brand names, store brands, or for
other companies.
Amneal Pharmaceuticals, a New Jersey-based company specializing in generic drugs with
large Long Island operations, supplies more than 10 billion generic doses to customers
annually. It also produces jobs, employing about 900 people in Brookhaven, Hauppauge
and Yaphank.
continued on page 22 WHAT’S INSIDE
CORNER
24OFFICE WHOLLY
27 MOLI MOVERS
26 & SHAKERS NONPROFIT
28 FUNDRAISERS CHARITY
29 SPOTLIGHT
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
