One year after receiving a $21 million U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grant to develop a vaccine manufacturing facility, Medicago has opened a 97,000-square-foot plant in Research Triangle Park, NC. While the company can produce 10 million vaccine doses per month in the new facility, it is designed to ramp up production within three months for a pandemic or biological threat.
The quick turnaround wasn't the only good news for Medicago this year. The company announced in July Phase II results for its plant-based virus-like particle H5N1 vaccine. The vaccine elicited a good immune response in all patients, regardless of age. "Our rapid development and effectiveness of our vaccine candidates combined with our proven ability to build a vaccine facility in less than a year at a lower cost than traditional technologies are compelling advantages to potential partners and government agencies," said Andy Sheldon, president and CEO of Medicago, in a release.
Medicago plans to have the facility at full capacity by the end of October.
- see the Medicago release
- and read the MedCity News piece