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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2020
Contact: ASPR Press Office
202-205-8117
[email protected]

Trump Administration Expands Manufacturing Capacity with Cytiva for Components of COVID-19 Vaccines

To meet the Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed goals, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) today announced an agreement with Cytiva, headquartered in Massachusetts, to expand the company’s manufacturing capacity for products that are essential in producing COVID-19 vaccines.

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, collaborated with the DoD Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense and Army Contracting Command, to provide approximately $31 million to Cytiva for vaccine-related consumable products, such as liquid and dry powder cell culture media, cell culture buffers, mixer bags, and XDR bioreactors.

“As part of Operation Warp Speed, we are expanding U.S.-based manufacturing of the products that are essential in the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “By expanding capacity now, not only do we help deliver these products as quickly as possible, but we also return manufacturing to America, boosting the economy and preparing us for future crises.”

Under the agreement, the company will expand manufacturing capacity in the company’s Massachusetts facilities and create duplicate capabilities in Cytiva’s Utah facilities to be complete in less than 12 months. Currently, the company only manufactures consumables in Massachusetts.

Cytiva is a major manufacturer of pharmaceutical consumables and hardware products and the primary supplier to many of the companies currently working with the U.S. government to develop COVID-19 vaccines. This capacity expansion will help Cytiva respond to the demand for COVID-19 vaccine consumables and hardware products without impacting on current manufacturing output.

The agreement with Cytiva is the latest to increase manufacturing capacity in the United States to aid in developing, manufacturing, and administering COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.

To date, the federal government has obligated a total of more than $1.1 billion to purchase needles, syringes, vials and supply kits, and to expand the capacity to manufacture these ancillary supplies and the fill-finish manufacturing capacity in the United States for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. HHS and DOD are working with Becton Dickinson, Corning Pharmaceutical Technologies, Goldbelt Security, Marathon Medical, Retractable Technologies Inc., SiO2, ApiJect, Smiths Medical, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. BARDA also is working with its Centers for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing in Maryland and Texas to expand vaccine manufacturing capacity for federal vaccine development partners.

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About Operation Warp Speed (OWS):

OWS is a partnership among components of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, engaging with private firms and other federal agencies, and coordinating among existing HHS-wide efforts to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.

About HHS, ASPR, and BARDA:

HHS works to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans, providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services. The mission of ASPR is to save lives and protect Americans from 21st century health security threats. Within ASPR, BARDA invests in the innovation, advanced research and development, acquisition, and manufacturing of medical countermeasures – vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, diagnostic tools, and non-pharmaceutical products needed to combat health security threats. To date, 55 BARDA-supported products have achieved FDA approval, licensure or clearance. For more on BARDA’s portfolio for COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccines and treatments and about partnering with BARDA, visit medicalcountermeasures.gov. To learn more about federal support for the all-of-America COVID-19 response, visit coronavirus.gov.

About the JPEO-CBRND:

The Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) protects the Joint Force by providing medical countermeasures and defense equipment against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats. JPEO-CBRND’s goal is to enable the Joint Force to fight and win unencumbered by a CBRN environment. JPEO-CBRND facilitates the rapid response, advanced development, manufacturing and acquisition of medical solutions, such as vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, to combat CBRN and emerging threats such as COVID-19. To learn more about JPEO-CBRND’s COVID-19 response, visit https://www.jpeocbrnd.osd.mil/coronavirus or follow JPEO-CBRND on social media at @JPEOCBRND.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other news materials are available at https://www.hhs.gov/news.
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Last revised: October 13, 2020

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