NIIMBL is Awarded $8.9M from NIST for High-Impact Manufacturing Projects to Respond to Pandemic

NEWARK, Del., May 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the National Institute for Innovation in Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing (NIIMBL) announces that they have received $8.9 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This award will fund high-impact projects that will support the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is part of the first round of funding made available to NIST through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

"Never in our lifetime have we experienced a global crisis of this magnitude. It presents a massive challenge but also an opportunity — one that I deeply believe we are positioned to help meet," said NIIMBL Director and Manufacturing USA Director's Council Chair Kelvin Lee. "Manufacturing USA institutes and their member organizations, and indeed all U.S. manufacturers, are extraordinarily capable and eager. We have the ingenuity, grit and expertise to find new ways to produce what we need to regain America's health, build the critical manufacturing supply chain, and strengthen our ability to respond swiftly and effectively to future challenges. These awards from NIST are a step in the right direction for us to do just that."

As the Manufacturing USA® institute focused on biopharmaceutical manufacturing innovation, NIIMBL is uniquely positioned to assist with the pandemic response. Its network of more than 150 members nationwide — including 10 leading global pharmaceutical manufacturers, small businesses, and academic and federal scientists — can leverage flexible, agile and cost-effective advanced manufacturing technology.

NIIMBL's new projects will:

• Provide virus proteins and to improve blood testing capabilities
• Assist regional hospital systems with validation of rapid in-house diagnostic testing capabilities
• Identify alternative domestic supply chains to reduce foreign dependence for respirators and masks to protect health care workers
• Validate decontamination approaches for clinical spaces
• Develop automated contact tracing technology within pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities to limit the spread of coronavirus in essential workers
• Accelerate the development of flexible manufacturing capabilities for biologic therapies and rapid release testing to position the nation for faster medical product scale-up in response to pandemics

NIIMBL's governing committee includes federal agency representatives from the Food and Drug Administration, National Cancer Institute, Department of Defense, National Science Foundation and NIST. NIIMBL and NIST are also working with the Department of Health & Human Services' National Institutes of Health and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to help ensure maximum impact from this investment. 

Visit NIIMBL.org to learn more.

About NIIMBL

The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) is a public-private partnership whose mission is to accelerate biopharmaceutical innovation, support the development of standards that enable more efficient and rapid manufacturing capabilities, and educate and train a world-leading biopharmaceutical manufacturing workforce, fundamentally advancing U.S. competitiveness in this industry. NIIMBL is part of Manufacturing USA®, a diverse network of  federally-sponsored manufacturing innovation institutes, and is funded through a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. Department of Commerce with significant additional support from its members.

Contact:
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mchacon@udel.edu

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SOURCE National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL)