Christine Thropp
A Department of Commerce-sponsored public-private partnership has received two awards worth $153 million in total from the National Institute of Standards and Technology for further development of biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes to scale up the domestic supply chain.
The awards to the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals also cover research and development efforts in preparation for, response to and prevention of coronavirus outbreaks, the department said Thursday.
NIIMBL will develop approaches to producing vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19 and other future coronavirus strains to support transformation of U.S. emergency response. It will also work to lessen the messenger RNA vaccine’s refrigeration requirement, increase antigen manufacturing capabilities and boost vaccine shelf life.
The first award is a NIST federal sponsorship worth $70 million over a five-year period while the second is a three-year, $83 million from the American Rescue Plan for R&D efforts.
The partnership with over 180 members brings together state governments and nonprofit organizations, biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, raw materials suppliers, academic research institutions as well as equipment and product manufacturers to advance developments in the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry.
“I am so pleased that NIIMBL will continue to bring together organizations of all types to help strengthen our nation through better pandemic preparedness and a more agile manufacturing industry,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
