Initiative expedites vial manufacturing capacity

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DOD) officials said the agencies have partnered to expedite vial manufacturing capacity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through Operation Warp Speed, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under the HHS, collaborated with the DOD Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense and Army Contracting Command. The partnership provided funding to two companies – Corning Incorporated, headquartered in Corning, N.Y., and SiO2 Materials Science, located in Auburn, Ala.

“The COVID-19 pandemic clearly demonstrates the need to bring manufacturing back to America, a priority President Trump has emphasized since his first day in office,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said. “With an estimated 90 percent of medical vials made overseas, foreign dependence could delay efforts to protect Americans with essential treatments and vaccines. With the actions HHS and DOD are taking, the Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed is building our capacity to respond to public health emergencies, including COVID-19.”

BARDA is providing $204 million to Corning to expand the domestic manufacturing capacity to produce an additional 164 million Valor Glass vials each year if needed. Approximately $143 million has been earmarked for SiO2 Materials Science to boost the ability to produce the company’s glass-like coat plastic container.

SiO2’s patented vial is a plastic container with a microscopic, thin, pure glass coating and can be used for drugs and vaccines.