HHS’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority is helping BD expand operations and manufacturing capacity in Nebraska to boost syringe and needle supplies for an eventual COVID-19 vaccine. Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) said today that the total project will cost $70 million, with BARDA providing $42 million. The company expects the new capacity to be online within…
J&J to pay Emergent BioSolutions an initial $480m to make COVID-19 vaccine
Emergent BioSolutions announced a five-year manufacturing agreement with Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) Janssen Pharmaceuticals for the parent company’s SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate. Gaithersburg, Md.-based Emergent is set to provide contract development and manufacturing services to produce Johnson & Johnson’s Ad26.COV2-S vaccine candidate at scale over five years, with the deal valued at approximately $480 million for…
U.S. paying Novavax $1.6b to ramp up COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing
The U.S. Health and Human Services Dept. and Defense Dept. announced a joint agreement with Novavax (NSDQ:NVAX) worth $1.6 billion to scale the manufacturing of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Gaithersburg, Md.-based Novavax’s commercial-scale manufacturing is expected to produce 100 million doses of the investigational vaccine that would become available for use in clinical trials or,…
DOD launches $100m initiative to return COVID-19-related medtech, pharma manufacturing to the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced today that it will dedicate $100 million authorized by the CARES Act to boost medtech and pharmaceutical manufacturing in the U.S. Working with DOD, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) launched a request for proposals from companies seeking financing under the Defense Production Act, which prioritizes government orders…
Sherlock Biosciences announces manufacturing partnership for CRISPR-based COVID-19 test
Sherlock Biosciences announced today that it will collaborate with Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) to enable large-scale manufacturing of the Sherlock CRISPR SARS-CoV-2 kit for COVID-19 detection. Officials at Cambridge, Mass.–based Sherlock Biosciences think the company’s CRISPR-based diagnostic test, which recently received an FDA emergency use authorization, will increase testing capacity and decreasing time to result…
Canada orders 37 million syringes from BD in anticipation of COVID-19 vaccine
Canada reportedly signed a contract to purchase 37 million syringes from Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) in preparation for a potential COVID-19 vaccine. A report in The Record revealed that Public Services & Procurement Minister Anita Anand said the country made a purchase order from the Canadian branch of BD in an effort to make sure Canada is ready for…
Merck eyes tiny patches as a vaccine delivery method
Merck has exercised its option to use Vaxxas‘ High Density Microarray Patch (HD-MAP) platform as a delivery platform for a vaccine candidate, the companies announced today. The companies did not disclose what the vaccine candidate is supposed to treat. But Merck this month announced two COVID-19 vaccine development efforts: a collaboration with IAVI and plans…
Thermo Fischer Scientific to boost manufacturing for CSL
Thermo Fischer Scientific announced today that it has inked a strategic partnership with biotechnology company CSL to help better meet the growing demand for biologic therapies. Thermo Fisher will support CSL’s product portfolio through its pharma services network, including drug product development, biologics manufacturing, sterile fill-finish, packaging and clinical trials logistics. Thermo Fisher — through…
Siemens Healthineers to produce 50m antibody tests per month against COVID-19
Siemens Healthineers (ETR: SHL) said today that it has started worldwide shipments of its COVID-19 antibody test, with a goal of producing 50 million tests per month as the pandemic evolves. The German medtech giant boasts that it has 20,000 systems worldwide to run the tests, including what it describes as the largest analyzer installed base in the…
Mass-producing a COVID-19 vaccine is going to be hard
Creating a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is just the first step. Recent media reports suggest that making it will also be a major challenge. There are presently a number of vaccine candidates around the world that are showing promise and entering the clinical studies phase — a speed of development usually unheard of in…