NEWARK, Del., July 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) confirms that it has received $153M in new funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as announced by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at NIIMBL's National Meeting in Washington, DC. The two awards include $70M to continue federal funding for NIIMBL for an additional five years and an additional $83M for coronavirus response projects under the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

"This is an important investment for America. I am so pleased that NIIMBL will continue to bring together organizations of all types to deliver impacts on our federal investments, strengthen our nation through better pandemic preparedness, and build a more agile manufacturing industry for future economic strength and more cost-effective manufacturing, and less reliance on foreign supply chains for our national needs for life-saving biopharmaceuticals," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

NIIMBL was launched in 2017 and to date has over 180 members in large industry, small-medium size companies, academic institutions, non-profit and federal agency partners. The diversity of thought and experience combined with the innovative power of this ecosystem has allowed NIIMBL to pursue over 70 large-scale innovation projects over the past five years.

"NIIMBL is pursuing its mission to accelerate biopharmaceutical manufacturing innovation, support the development of standards that enable more efficient and rapid manufacturing capabilities, and education and train a world-leading biopharmaceutical manufacturing workforce to fundamentally advance U.S. competitiveness in this industry," states Kelvin H. Lee, Institute Director. Additionally, Lee adds, "Our vision is to lead and transform the development and adoption of next-generation biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies that contribute to patient well-being and the additional funding will help our members forge and catalyze advancements vital to the acceleration of innovative technologies and a skilled workforce."

In addition, American Rescue Plan funding will:

• Provide facilities for innovators to access industrial equipment to "fill and finish" vaccines and develop approaches that improve efficiency and sterility in real-use manufacturing environments manufacturing environments
• Support the application of novel analytical technologies for faster characterization of messenger RNA vaccine quality
• Offer methods to improve messenger RNA vaccine manufacturing to lessen cold-chain requirements for storage and distribution and to also develop continuous manufacturing paradigms for this platform
• Demonstrate rapid scaling for production of coronavirus antigens and medical countermeasures for variants of concern
• Develop novel technology to identify counterfeit vaccines
• Demonstrate capabilities of portable facilities for manufacturing nucleic acids, critical for the scale-up of RNA-based vaccines according to Good Manufacturing Practices
• Develop a national supply chain database for biopharmaceutical manufacturers

"COVID-19 has clearly demonstrated the importance of pandemic readiness and funding from the American Rescue Plan, in addition to the continued support of NIIMBL, will strengthen the capabilities of our public-private partnership in advancing manufacturing innovations, and training a manufacturing workforce, to the benefit of all Americans," shares Lee.

Visit NIIMBL.org to learn more and to view the latest 2020-2021 Annual Report.

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, with headquarters at the University of Delaware, 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.

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SOURCE National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL)