"Medicine maker set to open next month"

MASSENA FACILITY: CEO says building's infrastructure allowed quick development of pharmaceutical plant

By BRIAN HAYDEN
JOHNSON NEWSPAPERS

SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 2011

MASSENA — The CEO of Pristine Pharma Corp. expects the company to open its manufacturing facility here next month.

Venkat E. Kakani visited this week to meet with local economic development officials and tour the progress of the 32,000-square-foot facility on County Route 42.

Normally, a pharmaceutical plant takes more than a year to build and complete, Mr. Kakani said. But the infrastructure in the former Michele Audio building allowed the company to convert it into a pharmaceutical facility in just three months. The company still needs to move in more equipment and make additional installations in its production facility before it can open.

"This facility is very much in move-in condition," Mr. Kakani said.

Nearly 180 applications have poured in to the state Labor Department for the first 25 positions for which the company is hiring — chemists, mechanical engineers and assembly line workers.

Pristine Pharma originally planned to recruit talent from Central and Western New York, but the company is now planning to do nearly all of its hiring locally because of the large talent pool in the area, Mr. Kakani said.

"The resumes are very, very qualified resumes," he added.

The company will initially make generic over-the-counter nasal and throat sprays in the plant under store brand names and its own label, NuMed. It will then branch out to stomach remedies and cough and cold medicines as time goes on, Mr. Kakani said.

Pristine Pharma has plans to grow to 100 employees over the next 18 months. A company sign in front of the building now greets drivers as they head into the village.

Mr. Kakani said he also spoke Thursday night with Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, who offered his support as the company opened.

Pristine Pharma is planning to use its proximity to the Canadian border to tap into the market and will also ship its products to Russian markets using the Port of Montreal.

Mr. Kakani showed the facility on Friday to Maxim Pantchenko, president of ITA of America, a Florida-based exporting company.

Mr. Pantchenko said ITA is one of the leading U.S. exporters of aspirin to Russia. Now, his company is negotiating a contract with Pristine to export nasal sprays to Russia as well.

ITA already contracts with a manufacturing plant in Long Island. But shipping out of the Port of Montreal is less expensive than shipping out of New York City, he said.

Any new products ITA ships to Russia would first have to be approved by Russia's Ministry of Health, Mr. Pantchenko said. But he was optimistic the contract would eventually be approved.

"We are hoping it will create a larger business for both of us," Mr. Kakani said.

Pristine Pharma is also expecting to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the state Department of Health in the next couple of weeks, Mr. Kakani said. Someone from those agencies will likely inspect the facility once it opens.

"We don't have to wait for anybody to come and inspect our facility. We can start producing and shipping the product," he said. "They have the right to come in, any time, unannounced ... and check our procedures."

Mr. Kakani thanked the community for its outpouring of support in the last few months.

"The citizens of this town, they are very cooperative, and they are very much welcoming of us," Mr. Kakani said. "We are very glad to be here."

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