Major USC Donors Bringing 700 Jobs to the State.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — “It’s nice to be somewhere where you are welcome to bring your business,” says Bill Kennedy of Nephron Pharmaceuticals That’s how Bill and Lou Kenney feel about building a new facility for their company, Nephron Pharmaceuticals in Lexington County. “There’s a lot of work going on which is totally to my liking,” says Lou Kennedy The project is expected to bring seven hundred jobs to the state, but the Kennedy’s say that number could grow. “We hope desperately to bring more jobs than we even committed to,” says Lou Kennedy. Their relationship with South Carolina started years ago. “A union of Bill and Lou Kennedy that’s started at Carolina went away to Florida to make their fortune if you will and now re-investing back here in their home state, couldn’t be happier,” says University of South Carolina President, Dr. Harris Pastides. Crandall Sims reporting, “The Kennedy’s are also big contributors to the University of South Carolina, their contribution of thirty million dollars in 2010 to build the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center here at USC’s School of Pharmacy, is the second largest gift in the University’s history and *the* largest gift ever to the pharmacy school.” “They made a huge donation to the University because they wanted to invest in pharmaceutical innovation and we want to help them be the best and most innovative pharmaceutical manufacturing company in the United States,” says Dr. Pastides It’s a partnership the Kennedy’s and the university hope to continue to gain from. “In the past couple of weeks we’ve had some exciting news through the University of South Carolina that I believe will lead to some new products for Nephron,” says Lou Kennedy “We are going to have the ability to, by being here in Columbia to train students and select students before they even graduate,” says Bill Kennedy. As for when the new facility that’s currently under construction will be up and running, that will take at least a couple of years, but maybe not quite so long for employees. “We will be hiring people very shortly,” says Bill Kennedy.