Collaboration between HHS, DoD and Hologic grows with $119M contract for COVID-19 test production expansion

Hologic, Inc. will expand domestic production of COVID-19 tests as a result of a new, $119 million contract with the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD).

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has supported Hologic throughout its COVID-19 test development. These funding additions should still allow the company to expand efforts at its supplier’s facilities in Wisconsin, Maine, and California. In all, this should boost its ability to produce 13 million tests per month by January 2022.

“Hologic’s platform is in high demand, and with this investment we will be able to improve the supply to laboratories across the country in addition to scaling up employment in Hologic supplier facilities,” HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said. “Hologic Inc. is now positioned to support the demand for COVID-19 testing in the United States due to the installed base of more than 1,100 fully automated, high throughput Panther and Panther Fusion systems. These Panther systems are each capable of performing more than 1,000 tests in a 24-hour period.”

These Panther systems run on Hologic’s fully automated Panther Fusion and Panther systems. More than 2,000 have already been installed in clinical diagnostic labs throughout the world and all 50 U.S. states. Since March and May, the tests themselves have been operating under an Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The expansion effort was led by the DOD’s Defense Assisted Acquisition (DA2) and the Department of the Air Force’s Acquisition COVID-19 Task Force and funded through the Health Care Enhancement Act.