Nephron Pharmaceuticals has been approved to produce a new drug.

“This is big news and it’s very good news,” said Lou Kennedy, Saturday, She is president and CEO of Nephron.

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has given Nephron permission to manufacture Budesonide. It’s a generic steroid administered to asthma and emphysema patients.

Kennedy said Nephron will begin shipping the product – from a batch produced as samples for the FDA- on Monday (June 13.)

Kennedy said the OK from the FDA to produce Budesonide means more production capabilities at Nephron’s South Carolina plant, that sits in West Columbia, just outside Cayce.

Nephron is running six filling lines, 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week.

Kennedy said 85 percent of its production has been moved to the Cayce plant already.

Kennedy said the hiring rate locally has been high since the first of the year. She said more than 100 people have been hired this year and more than 300 are employed there currently.

“We hired 36 last week,” Kennedy said, and five new employees begin work Monday (June 13.) Those new hires will go through a boot camp as a part of their orientation with Nephron.

Kennedy said positions ranging from high school and college interns to engineers and quality control are being added.

In planning, Nephron pledged to hire 700 in a 10-year period. Kennedy said the company is halfway to its hiring goal, and it did not get approval for it first drug production until October of 2015.

In December, Kennedy said Nephron has spent more than $300 million at the Lexington County facility.

Budesonide will be shipped all over the country.

Kennedy said the company will now look forward to getting approval for more products to manufacture.

“It’s good news for us, and good news for South Carolina,” said Kennedy of the FDA approval.