SWEDESBORO, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wedgewood Pharmacy, the largest animal-health compounding pharmacy in the U.S., opened a new 14,000-square-foot customer service center at a ceremony attended by local dignitaries Tuesday. The state-of-the-art center expands the company’s pharmacy, warehouse and office facility size to 54,000 square feet.
A compounding pharmacy prepares personalized medications for patients, based on a practitioner’s prescription, in which individual ingredients are mixed together in the precise strength, dosage form and flavor required by a patient.
Local officials who attended the event and toured the facility included Adam Taliaferro, assemblyman, Third Legislative District, New Jersey; Tom Bianco, director, Gloucester County Department of Economic Development; Bernadine Jackson, councilwoman, Logan Township; and Heather Simmons, freeholder, Gloucester County, New Jersey. The New Jersey Senate and General Assembly issued a joint legislative resolution, which affirmed “this facility’s importance to the citizens of Swedesboro and this State.” The resolution was authored by Senate president Stephen M. Sweeney, assemblyman John J. Burzichelli and Taliaferro. Entertainment was provided by an all-employee band during a ribbon-cutting and reception for employees and guests.
The customer service center uses advanced cloud-based technology to improve and expand veterinarians’, pet owners’, caregivers’ and patients’ ability to prescribe, renew and refill prescriptions for compounded medications. New capabilities of the center’s technology include automatically identifying customers when they call, routing them to an agent with the correct expertise and providing agents with complete information about each caller’s account as they take a call. It supports voice, email and chat interactions with customers. The customer service center employs 76 people in various roles and has a capacity for 110 personnel; 29 positions throughout the company, including center roles, are currently open.
Wedgewood serves veterinary practices, including general and equine practices and board-certified veterinary medical specialists in Endocrinology, Ophthalmology, Oncology, Cardiology and Laboratory-Animal. The pharmacy compounds more than 26,000 different medications for companion animals, horses and exotic animals. In human health, the company primarily serves board-certified specialists practicing Addiction Medicine and Urology.
In her remarks, Marcy Bliss, president and chief executive officer, focused on the company’s dramatic and sustained growth during its 36-year history. “When we moved into this facility in 2003, we had 30 employees. Now, almost 350 people here serve hundreds of thousands of prescribers and their patients throughout the U.S. with the personalized medicines that are critical when mass-manufactured drugs are not appropriate for a patient. Compounding represents both the historical roots of pharmacy and the future of personalized medicine.”
Simmons added, “It is so important to us here in Gloucester County to honor you, the employees of Wedgewood. This company started in Gloucester County and, when you had an opportunity to grow, you chose to stay in Gloucester County. Now, you are hiring more and more people from the county and the area, and expanding, here. That’s the vision for what we want to do in terms of economic [growth], not only for Gloucester County, but for the region. Thank you for your commitment to our region, to the education and development of your employees, and to the services that you provide to your patients.”
About Wedgewood Pharmacy
In its 36-year history, the company has grown from a local community pharmacy to become one of the largest compounding pharmacies in the United States, serving more than 30,000 prescribers and hundreds of thousands of patients throughout the U.S. every year with customized animal-health and human-health prescriptions.
Wedgewood Pharmacy is accredited by Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board (PCAB®) for compliance with PCAB pharmacy compounding accreditation standards. PCAB is a service of Accreditation Commission for Health Care and is a third-party accreditation organization that has developed the highest national standards that providers are measured against to illustrate their ability to effectively and efficiently deliver quality compounded medications to consumers.
In June 2016, Chicago-based New Harbor Capital became the majority owner of the company.