Ritedose opens new logistics facility in Columbia

The Ritedose Corp, a Columbia-based pharmaceutical manufacturer specializing in blow-fill-seal (BFS) technology, unveiled its new distribution and logistics facility at Performance Park during a ribbon-cutting ceremony today, June 18.

At the heart of Performance Park is a new 225,000-square-foot central distribution and logistics center that expands Ritedose’s capabilities to handle well over 2 billion doses per year, according to the company. The new facility is part of a multiphase $81 million investment that has created an additional 100 new jobs.

The grand opening event included Ritedose CEO Jody Chastain, state and county officials, community leaders and key partners in the life sciences ecosystem.

This investment reflects Ritedose’s ongoing commitment to innovation, workforce development and the future of both South Carolina’s $25.7 billion life sciences industry and the country’s, the company said in the news release.

“This purpose-built facility marks the next phase of growth for Ritedose Performance Park,” Chastain said in the release. “It expands our capabilities to handle logistics and distributions of well over 2 billion doses per year. However, we weren’t just thinking about growing square footage, labs or equipment when we started planning this facility — our thoughts were also on growing our people and supporting our community. We’re a different kind of company that is deeply rooted in our purpose and driven by passion to make a difference in the lives of others, and we’re just getting started.”

Other highlights of 1150 Performance Parkway include the first LEED-certified building on Ritedose’s campus, a half-mile walking path through nine acres of preserved wetlands, an $11 million lab inside the facility (construction to begin in fall 2025), allowing Ritedose to assist more early-stage companies in developing therapeutics and getting them to market efficiently. The campus includes a 150-seat training facility, designated as the “Ritedose Center of Excellence,” designed to enhance employee professional development and offer personal growth opportunities through specialized classes on personal finance, health and wellness, among others. The center includes two outdoor murals by local Columbia artist Ija Charles, depicting what Ritedose has identified as its core values: “Work for the Greater Good” and “See Beyond Ourselves.”

Ritedose is in its 30th year. The company says it has been making significant advancements both operationally and for the community, including a 2024 expansion of high-speed blow-fill-seal lines that added 180 million unit-dose capacity for ophthalmic and respiratory medications; the addition of a seventh Syntegon packaging line that doubled capacity to package individually wrapped vial medications. The company became the manufacturing partner of choice for Verona Pharma’s new COPD drug Ohtuvayre; secured several FDA approvals for new COPD and asthma medications — helping address a national shortage of Albuterol; launched “1000 Hours of Purpose” in collaboration with United Way of the Midlands, donating 1,000 hours of employee time to support various local organizations addressing basic human needs like hunger and housing; raised $66,000 in continued support of the American Heart Association’s Field Day events; and donated 1 million doses to the national charitable medication distributor Dispensary of Hope, to provide essential respiratory medications for low-income and chronically ill patients across the country.

Ritedose is the largest sterile contract development manufacturing organization in the United States, specializing in sterile BFS technology that ensures sterile, consistent and safe unit dose delivery. The company’s process guides the development of molecules from clinical trials to commercialization of branded and generic inhalation and ophthalmic medications, the release stated.