Emergent Biosolutions unveiled its new Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM) on Tuesday, which is designed to enable manufacturing of various medical countermeasures to address urgent public health threats.
The 112,000-sq. ft. facility was supported through a public-private partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, an office within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tasked with developing countermeasures against bioterrorism and various chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.
The unveiling included a ribbon cutting ceremony and a full tour for potential stakeholders. In addition, the event featured speeches from Daniel Abdun-Nabi, Emergent’s president and CEO; BARDA Director Rick Bright, William Cole, president and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corporation; and Secretary Mike Gill of the Maryland State Department of Commerce.
The CIADM facility is now the third HHS-designated center in the United States. It is equipped with technology that will allow Emergent to meet the government’s domestic preparedness priorities on a cost-effective and reliable basis.
The facility is comprised of a laboratory and manufacturing space that enables the flexible manufacturing of drug substances from microbial, cell culture, and viral production platforms.
Emergent’s CIADM has been awarded task orders for therapeutics for the Ebola and Marburg viruses, and a vaccine to combat Zika virus. It has also manufactured an Ebola vaccine candidate as part of a third-party collaboration.