The Pennsylvania-based drug maker plans to close its Minnesota plant and move all of its third-party manufacturing operations to its 300,000-square-foot facility near the Salt Lake City International Airport.

The move is expected to result in the company hiring an additional 50 to 60 new full-time employees, Cephalon spokeswoman Karen McCollum said. The company currently employs approximately 200 in Utah. "We really have come to appreciate Utah and Salt Lake City and the experience we've had there over the years."

On Thursday, the Governor's Office of Economic Development Board approved offering Cephalon $1.7 million in tax credits over the next 10 years to help the company relocate its manufacturing business to Salt Lake City.

The company can earn the incentives by hiring 50 new full-time employees over the next decade and paying them 125 percent of the average wage in Salt Lake County. Cephalon's expansion is expected to generate an additional $6.5 million in state tax revenue over that same period and an additional $35 million in new wages.

"This is the kind of company we want. They have been a very strong corporate citizen in Utah," said Jerry Oldroyd, a member of the economic development board.

Oldroyd noted that to date Cephalon has spent in excess of $150 million in Utah on its plant and equipment.

Cephalon entered Utah by acquiring Anesta Corp., a company that developed Actiq, a drug used to treat severe pain in cancer patients. Anesta's product was the result of technology originally developed at the University of Utah.

Since Cephalon's acquisition of Anesta, the company has paid more than $50 million in royalties to the U., making it one of the most successful technology commercialization ventures in the state's history, according to the economic development office.

steve@sltrib.com