HHS expands U.S.-based pharmaceutical manufacturing to get drugs to hospitals faster

The Department of Health and Human Services will work with a team of private-industry partners led by Phlow Corporation of Richmond, Virginia, to expand pharmaceutical manufacturing in the United States to provide medicines needed during COVID-19 and future public health emergencies.

The U.S. government and Phlow are developing a prioritized list of active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished medicines critically needed by healthcare systems.

The Phlow-led team will provide immediate, U.S.-based capacity to produce the active pharmaceutical ingredients and the chemical compounds for ingredients needed to help alleviate or prevent drug shortages.

The drug ingredients will be manufactured at facilities in the United States, including a new facility to be built in Virginia.

Under the four-year, $354 million agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at HHS, the team will manufacture the supplies for medicines for patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

The contract can be extended for up to a total of $812 million over a total of 10 years to maintain the system and supplies.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The pandemic has created a surge in the number of hospitalized patients, which may create a shortage of critical medicines. The team will be able to rapidly provide U.S. healthcare systems at risk of shortage with finished, sterile, injectable generic medicines.

Currently, a majority of ingredients for critical medicines are manufactured outside the United States. They are typically manufactured using slower, less efficient processes, HHS said.

Shipping the ingredients or finished drugs to the U.S. also adds time that is not available during pandemics or other public health emergencies.

The U.S. national medical supply also is placed at risk during a global health emergency when individual countries can close borders and potentially eliminate access to critical materials.

THE LARGER TREND

The team is also expected to expand advanced manufacturing capability in the U.S. to provide further capacity for producing finished generic drugs.

They will use advanced manufacturing processes, including continuous manufacturing, and will complete a technology transfer of novel continuous manufacturing processes to organizations or businesses designated by the U.S. government.

Phlow is securing the national supply of essential medicines through partnerships with pharmaceutical supply and manufacturing organizations, including AMPAC Fine Chemicals, Civica Rx and the Medicines for All Institute at the Virginia Commonwealth University's College of Engineering.

ON THE RECORD

"The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us how health threats or other sources of instability can threaten America's medical supply chains, potentially endangering Americans' health," said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. "America has the capabilities, resources, and expertise to secure our medical supply chains; now the Trump Administration is providing the leadership to make it happen. Working with the private sector, HHS is taking a significant step to rebuild our domestic ability to protect ourselves from health threats by utilizing American-made ingredients and creating new American jobs in the process."

"BARDA is committed to working with partners from the private sector and across the U.S. government to improve our nation's health security," said BARDA Acting Director Gary Disbrow. "Utilizing advanced manufacturing processes increases the speed we can provide patients with treatments, reduces the likelihood of drug shortages, and increases U.S. readiness. Today we have taken an important step to strengthen our domestic drug production capability and respond to the increased need for medicines to treat COVID-19 patients during the current pandemic."

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com