GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded $8.9 million for high-impact biopharmaceutical manufacturing projects to support the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed by President Donald Trump in March, the funding will go to the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL).
“The Department of Commerce is proud to award these CARES Act funds as part of the president’s whole-of-government response to defeating COVID-19,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “These NIST-funded projects will support critical innovations in testing, tracing and therapies, all of which will save lives, help protect those on the front lines and make workplaces safer for all Americans.”
NIIMBL will use the $8.9 million CARES Act award to fund manufacturing projects at eligible institutions around the country that:
Improve COVID-19 testing capabilities, including rapid in-house diagnostic systems.
Identify reliable domestic supply chains for the production of respirators and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Validate decontamination approaches for clinical spaces.
Develop contact tracing technology for essential workers in pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.
Build flexible manufacturing capabilities that allow for the quick scale-up in production of biologic therapies and essential medical products.
This award is the first of several that NIST will make to Manufacturing USA® institutes under the CARES Act. With over 150 member manufacturers, small businesses and academic institutions from across the country, NIIMBL will leverage its public-private partnership model to spur important innovations in the fight against COVID-19.
“The Manufacturing USA institutes were founded to foster economic development but also to provide the advanced manufacturing this country needs,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Walter ..
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