Pharmacy company looks to open distribution center
The Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday unanimously approved a conditional use permit for a Pittsburgh-based pharmaceutical manufacturing firm that wants to take over an existing warehouse building. The project could potentially lead to more than 100 high-paying jobs.
PANTHERX Rare Pharmacy represented by Bass, Barry & Sims, PLC, requested a conditional use permit to allow for the assembly, processing, storage and distribution of drugs out of a 38,700-square-foot distribution facility. The conditional use permit will not allow for the industrial manufacturing of drugs at the proposed location. The building is on a 4-acre site at 280 Moore Lane, according to a staff report.
Collierville Town Planner Jaime Groce described the project as a mail order pharmacy, with PANTHERX working directly with insurance providers to send people medications in the mail.
Dave Loschinskey, chief operating officer of PANTHERX, said the building will be a second facility to help the company continue to grow and scale.
“We found a building that we really like that kind of fit our needs that’s also in a great city,” Loschinskey said. “...This will also help us split the load between two facilities because as you get larger, a lot of larger companies have a second or backup facility, but we will use it every day.”
The building was constructed in 2012 as an industrial manufacturing facility. The facility formerly housed safety equipment supplier Pyramex Safety Products before it moved to Piperton, according to Groce. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the request for a conditional use permit during an April 4 meeting.
What does PANTHERX want to do at Collierville site?
According to the applicant’s letter to the Town of Collierville, the project consists of using the warehouse as a prescription distribution center. Fedex and UPS trucks are expected to deliver or pickup at the facility one to two times a day, and access to the site will be through one access drive on Moore Lane.
No more than 10% of the building area could be dedicated to retail uses, and adequate parking would be required for customers. A drive-through pickup window is not planned for this use, according to staff reports.
How many jobs would be created in Collierville? What would they pay?
The PANTHERX Rare Pharmacy’s distribution facility at Moore Lane is expected to have 25 employees to start at the site in 2025. The company is anticipated to grow to 125 employees at the facility by 2030.
Mike Hess, an attorney representing the pharmacy, said during the April 4 planning commission meeting, that employees at the site would make an average salary of $80,000. Those employees include pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
What’s next with the PANTHERX project?
According to a staff report, PANTHERX Rare Pharmacy plans to apply for a site plan modification to add an additional 16 parking spaces to the site. The site currently has only 23 parking spaces and the current conditional use permit allows for 39 parking spaces. The applicant’s letter said the pharmacy plans to do a parking lot expansion of 80 spaces, which would require a conditional use permit amendment approval by the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
If the site plan is approved, the next process would be obtaining a certificate of occupancy and building permits along with seeking sign and fence permits.
What is PANTHERX Rare Pharmacy?
PANTHERX, which was founded in 2011, is known as a leading rare disease specialty pharmacy. The company provides pharmacy services and related pharmaceutical product distribution to customers across the country. Loschinskey said the firm has more than 600 employees primarily in Western Pennsylvania.
Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-2931610.