Nephron Pharmaceuticals furloughs SC workers after recent troubles
Nephron Pharmaceuticals is furloughing an unspecified number of employees as a result of what the company called a “business need.”
The furloughs were confirmed to The State late Thursday evening.
“Nephron is a company that regards each employee as a member of its family and is grateful for the contributions they make,” the company said in a statement Thursday night. “As a result of business need, management has made the difficult decision to temporarily furlough a number of employees. This does not mean that Nephron is terminating them. They will remain eligible for benefits, subject to plans they have in place with the company.
“While Nephron management does not know for certain, it anticipates the furlough will last approximately 90 days and will keep impacted employees updated with the latest information throughout the process.”
The announcement surprised some Cayce city officials, who were unaware of the furloughs until informed Thursday night by The State.
State Rep. Micah Caskey, a Republican who represents part of the Cayce area, said he hopes Nephron works out any problems that may have led to the furloughs. The company is a significant local employer and a major player in the developing business corridor on Cayce’s 12th Street Extension.
“I don’t know what kind of problem this is,’’ Caskey said, noting the company has been quick to support community causes.
“If they have got troubles right now, I’m confident they will get through them in the end,’’ he said. “No great business gets through everything without hiccups from time to time. They are an important piece in our business community in Cayce, the Midlands and in South Carolina as a whole.’’
Nephron was hit with a negative report after an inspection by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last spring, which raised concerns about Nephron’s process for ensuring the sterility of its products and raised questions about the company’s internal process for monitoring and investigating issues that arise at the facility, located south of Cayce.
Nephron, a major employer in the Columbia area, has voluntarily recalled millions of pharmaceutical products, saying it couldn’t ensure the products were sterile. The report led to a voluntary recall of millions of products by the Lexington County-based company.
In December, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs notified almost 40,000 veterans using Nephron products to stop using the company’s drugs.
Nephron told The State at the time there was no indication the products were contaminated or threatened patient safety, and the recall is a precautionary measure.
Nephron employs 4,000 full and part-time employees at a 715,000-square-foot campus that opened in 2015 in a Lexington County industrial park south of Cayce.
Reporter Sammy Fretwell contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 16, 2023 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Nephron Pharmaceuticals furloughs SC workers after recent troubles."
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