Texas A&M will join the State of Texas, biopharmaceutical company GSK and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) this week at a dedication ceremony for the new Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Facility (PIVF).
The PIVF serves as the next milestone for the Texas A&M Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM) in Bryan-College Station, one of three government-funded biodefense centers in the United States.
The CIADM was founded on a $285 million public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and collaborating academic, commercial and State of Texas stakeholders. The center is responding to the need for rapid and flexible manufacturing to bolster the nation’s response ability in the event of a public health threat, including naturally occurring emerging infectious diseases, as well as chemical, biological and nuclear hazards.
The state-of-the-art PIVF facility is designed to supply bulk antigen to meet the U.S. Government requirements for 50 million doses of pandemic influenza vaccine within four month of a declared pandemic.
The event will be held Thursday, September 18, 2014 at the facility’s site.
Attendees for the event include Texas Governor Rick Perry; Robin Robinson, Ph.D., BARDA director and deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; along with other representatives from the State of Texas, Texas A&M and GSK.
The PIVF is on track for completion by the end of 2015.