The U.S. Department of Commerce鈥檚 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has made two awards totaling $153 million to the (NIIMBL). The awards were announced today by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo at the NIIMBL annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
NIIMBL is a public-private partnership designed to accelerate innovation in the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry, which produces vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, gene therapies and other medical products derived from biological sources. NIIMBL is a institute sponsored by the Department of Commerce.
鈥淚 am so pleased that NIIMBL will continue to bring together organizations of all types to help strengthen our nation through better pandemic preparedness and a more agile manufacturing industry,鈥 said Secretary Raimondo, who was joined at the NIIMBL meeting by Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration Janet Woodcock and Director of the FDA鈥檚 Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Peter Marks. 鈥淭his important investment for America, funded in part by President Biden鈥檚 American Rescue Plan, will help meet the nation鈥檚 need for lifesaving biopharmaceuticals.鈥
The first award renews NIST鈥檚 federal sponsorship of NIIMBL, providing $70 million over five years with an equal, non-federal cost-matching requirement. This award will allow NIIMBL to continue driving innovation in domestic biopharmaceutical manufacturing by developing flexible, agile and cost-effective manufacturing processes that can be scaled up quickly and are less reliant on foreign supply chains.
NIST will also provide $83 million to NIIMBL over three years from the to support research and development to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus outbreaks.
Note: NIIMBL's renewal for an additional five years of federal funding was conducted through a rigorous performance evaluation by an external panel. It is the first institute renewal using the new authority from the 91看片 reauthorization. The Institute Evaluation Report can be found .