Nephron’s Kennedys to inspire Class of 2026 at White Coat Ceremony

Roby Hill
August 02, 2022

Bill and Lou Kennedy have set a high bar for pharmacy executives.

The founder and owners of Nephron Pharmaceuticals, a South Carolina-based world leader in contract manufacturing, 503B outsourcing, and respiratory medication production, the Kennedys will give the keynote address at the MUSC College of Pharmacy White Coat Ceremony on Aug. 12 on the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) campus.

“Bill and Lou Kennedy are two of the most dynamic figures in South Carolina pharmacy,” said Philip Hall, dean of the MUSC College of Pharmacy. “They are both outstanding role models for entrepreneurship, innovation and business acumen. The great success they have engendered at Nephron offers inspiration for all students entering our program.”

Lou Kennedy

Lou Kennedy sized

The president, CEO and owner of Nephron has spurred the company to unprecedented growth. Part of that success might be attributable to a commitment to gender equity. Nephron is a certified woman-owned business, with woman holding the majority of all advanced degrees and in key management roles at the company, and Lou Kennedy believes it helps them develop new business opportunities.

She has held a variety of marketing and operational roles at Nephron and created the Nephron national sales force. The state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in West Columbia employs nearly 2,000 people, produces one billion doses of life-saving medication annually and is a nationwide leader in manufacturing opioid-free pain management drugs.

In 2020 and 2021, Lou Kennedy announced historic, job-creating expansions of Nephron, including the opening of the new Nephron Nitrile plant, which will help alleviate the crucial shortage of personal protection equipment and create over 200 jobs. She is a controlling partner in Nephron Nitrile and InjectEZ.

She has been widely recognized for her achievements in business and leadership. As a worldwide pandemic reached South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster appointed Lou Kennedy to #acceleratesc – the state’s coordinated COVID-19 advisory and recovery team. The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce celebrated her as its 2020 Business Leader of the Year. She has won the Manufacturing Icon Award, the Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Regional Award, and an Outstanding Leadership Award from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

Nephron won an honorable mention award for Global Facility of the Year in 2017 from the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). The award hailed Nephron innovation and automation. Lou Kennedy, now a member of the judge’s panel for the global facility of the year award, joined the ISPE board of directors in 2019 and served until 2022.

In addition to serving on the ISPE board, she is chairman of S.C. BIO, a statewide association promoting the life sciences industry, which has also given her its Pinnacle Award for significant contributions to the advancement of life sciences in the state. She is a member of the Columbia Urban League board and a recipient of the Urban League’s award for impact on education and being a bridge builder; Governor McMaster’s appointee to the South Carolina Research Authority executive committee; and past chairman of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

Lou Kennedy received South Carolina’s highest civilian honor – the Order of the Palmetto – from Governor Nikki Haley in recognition of a lifetime of outstanding service. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations from the University of South Carolina.

 

Bill Kennedy

 Bill Kennedy

Bill Kennedy is the chief business development officer and owner of Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation. A pharmacist by degree, he founded Nephron in 1991. He previously founded the company RoTech Medical which he sold for nearly $1 billion in 1997.

Nephron Pharmaceuticals opened a state of the art manufacturing facility in West Columbia, South Carolina in early June 2014. He has since opened a new division of Nephron, Nephron 503B Outsourcing Facility. This division is helping to solve drug shortages across America.

Along with his wife Lou, Bill Kennedy helped establish the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center in conjunction with the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. Lou and Bill Kennedy were named Ambassadors of the Year by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce in 2013. They also received the Lexington County Ambassador for Economic Development award in 2014. Bill Kennedy also previously served on the Hughes Supply Board.