Two pharmaceutical companies are investing more than $21 million and opening their headquarters in downtown Charleston, according to a news release.

New World Pharmaceuticals LLC and its affiliate company New World Consumer Products LLC, which creates products and supplements based on technology developed by New World Pharmaceuticals, will be headquartered at 78 Alexander St., within incubator space in the Charleston Digital Corridor's Flagship2. Nearly 40 new jobs are expected to be created during the next five years.

The companies will focus primarily on the development of a patented sports performance carbohydrate supplement formulated using New World Pharmaceuticals technology, the news release said.

President and founder Fred Sexton said he chose Charleston as the companies' headquarters because of the nearby educational institutions that could help with research and development.

"We were seeking a location where we would have access to recognized academic institutions and be in a state that is friendly to business and interested in working with companies to help them grow," Sexton said in a statement.

The S.C. Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits for the project, the news release said. Credits are performance-based incentives that rebate a portion of new employees' withholding taxes.

"South Carolina has become a magnet for high-tech and innovative companies, including those in the life sciences sector. Experts predict that by 2020, our state's high-tech jobs should increase by nearly 20%, and with companies like New World taking root, I'd say we are definitely on the right track," S.C. Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt said in a statement.

New World is expected to participate in SCRA's SC Launch program, a collaboration among the state's university research foundations.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said the decision to locate the two companies in Charleston is "great validation that Charleston is an ideal city for high-tech knowledge-based and research businesses."

"The mix of high quality of life for our residents and access to fine institutes of higher learning proves to attract innovative businesses," Riley said in a statement.