Croda expands vaccine facility in Pennsylvania

Croda International, Plc (Croda), a smart science healthcare solutions company, announced Thursday it will use funding from the federal government to establish a new facility in Lamar, Pa., that will expand its capacity to create ingredients for vaccines.

Croda said it had entered into an agreement with the U.S. government where the government will provide the company with up to $75 million to expand its U.S. manufacturing capacity of ingredients for lipid systems used in novel therapeutic drugs, like mRNA vaccines.

The Lamar facility would be a multi-purpose cGMP site. Construction is expected to begin on the facility later this year, with the facility up and running by 2025. The facility is part of a total project investment of up to $133 million “Empower Biologics Delivery” strategy.

“We are grateful to the U.S. government for its support of Croda,” Daniele Piergentili, President of Croda Life Sciences, said. “The delivery technology based on lipid systems offers significant potential for the safe and efficient delivery of next generation vaccines and therapeutic drugs. As a result of this investment, Croda will be able to expand its capabilities to develop and manufacture ingredients in support of this important technology. This will help ensure that the U.S. is well prepared for future health emergencies and equipped to offer.”

Lipid systems offer potential as a delivery system for a wide range of applications, including mRNA-based therapeutics, such as the flu, COVID-19, and cancer treatments. The company said the market for lipid systems is expected to grow significantly over the next decade.

Croda currently has manufacturing sites for lipid systems in Alabaster, Ala., and Leek, United Kingdom.

The cooperative agreement is a joint award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense in partnership with the Army Contract Command’s Joint COVID Response Division.