East Yorkshire-headquartered Croda International has received US government backing to deliver a £108 million manufacturing facility to support vaccine production.
The smart science firm, already developing a similar project in the UK, has entered into an agreement that will see more than £60 million provided by the Biden administration.
It will be used to expand the country’s capacity for making lipid systems used in novel therapeutic drugs, such as mRNA vaccines. It is the solution used to carry the active ingredient into the body, and is used to ward off flu and treat cancer.
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Croda will invest more than £47 million at a new multi-purpose site in Lamar, Pennsylvania.
Construction is expected to start later this year, with production in 2025.
It will be a third site for £1.9 billion turnover Croda, supplementing the expanding facility in Leek, Staffordshire, and back across the Atlantic in Alabaster, Alabama.
Daniele Piergentili, president of Croda Life Sciences, said: "We are grateful to the US government for its support of Croda. 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 US is well prepared for future health emergencies and equipped to offer advanced treatments for some of the most prevalent illnesses in the world today."
The agreement is a joint award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Defense's Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense, in partnership with the Army Contracting Command's Joint Covid Response Division.
Nicole Kilgore, deputy joint programme executive officer for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Defense, said: "The US government is pleased to be a part of these industrial base expansion efforts to expand production of raw materials for mRNA vaccines."
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