Jubilant HollisterStier continues to ride the manufacturing expansion wave generated by the COVID-19 business boom by snaring a $146.6 million contract from the U.S. government.
The contract, inked with several agencies that fall within the Department of Health and Human Services, will allow the Spokane, Washington-based CDMO to double its injectables filling capacity to meet current demand and prepare for any future pandemics.
Funded by the American Rescue Plan, the deal gives Jubilant a total of $193 million to pump into its manufacturing facility, the company said. It expects to complete the expansion funded by the contract by 2025.
“Jubilant's expansion will target large pharmaceuticals and biotech companies for parenteral products as well as feature a flexible manufacturing platform able to produce several types of vaccines,” President Amit Arora said in a statement. “This investment will ensure our ability and flexibility to speedily produce quality vaccines and treatments for our customers and be better prepared for any future threats to the country.”
In June of 2021, Jubilant unveiled plans for a $92 million expansion of the facility, which included a high-speed injectable fill line with isolator technology that would allow it to churn out 400 vials per minute, increasing capacity by 50%.
Earlier that year, the company said it was running production around the clock, seven days a week to meet demand generated by COVID-19 treatments that included Gilead’s remdesivir and Eli Lilly’s bamlanivimab. The company also picked up a fill-finish deal with Novavax for its COVID-19 vaccine in March 2021.