Smiths Medical Receives $20M Federal Funding for COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts
By Business Wire | 07.15.20
Investment will support increased syringe and needle device production for Operation Warp Speed vaccine program.
Smiths Medical announced a strategic public-private partnership with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and the Department of Defense’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND). The partnership expands capacity at the Smiths Medical facility in Keene, N.H., for production of integrated hypodermic needle and syringe products to support the government’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
Smiths Medical has received an order through our authorized distributor Marathon Medical’s BARDA IDIQ agreement for 78.6 million syringe and needle units. In addition, BARDA, in collaboration with JPEO-CBRND, will invest $20 million into a $38 million capital expansion project to further expand Smiths Medical’s production operations in Keene, N.H. The partnership will increase Smiths Medical’s needle production capacity by 125 million units per year. The federal government will have priority access to this expanded capacity for vaccination efforts dedicated to COVID-19, flu vaccines, and future pandemics.
Smiths Medical’s EDGE Safety Hypodermic Devices technology combines the benefits of an advanced safety hypodermic needle with the dead space profile of a conventional needle. The Needle-Pro EDGE hypodermic needle offers the lowest dead space, compared to leading hypodermic safety needle devices, helping to ensure dosage accuracy and less wasted medication—while helping to prevent needlestick injuries.
“Smiths Medical has risen to the challenge of COVID-19 patient care and now delivery of a future COVID-19 vaccination. Over the last six months, Smiths Medical has delivered the healthcare industry significant increased production of ventilators, infusion pumps, extended dwell catheters and other respiratory products necessary for treating COVID-19 patients,” said JehanZeb Noor, Smiths Medical CEO. “The current global crisis has galvanized our culture to serve patients and transform the healthcare industry. The BARDA award is an important award in our company’s history, and we will execute relentlessly to help impact millions of lives here in the U.S.”
Smiths Medical has received an order through our authorized distributor Marathon Medical’s BARDA IDIQ agreement for 78.6 million syringe and needle units. In addition, BARDA, in collaboration with JPEO-CBRND, will invest $20 million into a $38 million capital expansion project to further expand Smiths Medical’s production operations in Keene, N.H. The partnership will increase Smiths Medical’s needle production capacity by 125 million units per year. The federal government will have priority access to this expanded capacity for vaccination efforts dedicated to COVID-19, flu vaccines, and future pandemics.
Smiths Medical’s EDGE Safety Hypodermic Devices technology combines the benefits of an advanced safety hypodermic needle with the dead space profile of a conventional needle. The Needle-Pro EDGE hypodermic needle offers the lowest dead space, compared to leading hypodermic safety needle devices, helping to ensure dosage accuracy and less wasted medication—while helping to prevent needlestick injuries.
“Smiths Medical has risen to the challenge of COVID-19 patient care and now delivery of a future COVID-19 vaccination. Over the last six months, Smiths Medical has delivered the healthcare industry significant increased production of ventilators, infusion pumps, extended dwell catheters and other respiratory products necessary for treating COVID-19 patients,” said JehanZeb Noor, Smiths Medical CEO. “The current global crisis has galvanized our culture to serve patients and transform the healthcare industry. The BARDA award is an important award in our company’s history, and we will execute relentlessly to help impact millions of lives here in the U.S.”
