Biomanufacturing Science and Technology Consortium to Advance U.S. Manufacturing of Biopharmaceuticals

Goal: Create the Biomanufacturing Science and Technology Consortium of industry and academic leaders to develop a dynamic technology roadmap for the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry's challenges of improving quality and safety of biopharmaceuticals and securing significant cost savings

Lead: University of Massachusetts Lowell
600 Suffolk Street, Suite 226
Lowell, MA 08154-3643

Award Number: 70NANB15H071

Federal Funding: $499,928

Project Duration: 24 months

The University of Massachusetts, Lowell, in collaboration with a broad swath of academic and industry partners, will form an industry-specific consortium to promote development of advanced biomanufacturing science and technology and to upgrade existing technology. Additionally, the consortium will strive to share resources and promote innovation throughout the industry.

The objectives of the project are to:

• Create a Biomanufacturing Science and Technology Consortium of industry and academic leaders.
• Conduct workshops on national and regional levels to compile, identify, and prioritize technology challenges, attempt to leverage crowdsourcing, provide innovative ideas for solutions to important questions, and identify research projects.
• Develop a technology roadmap for biomanufacturing industry's next generation.

Approximately one in every four drugs introduced to the market are biopharmaceuticals. The industry is booming and the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry has tremendous economic impact. There are tremendous technology challenges that affect production and purification of this highly specialized and complex process. The specialized nature of these pharmaceuticals and complexities involved in producing them are major drivers of increasing healthcare costs. Without a roadmap, the industry's current challenges cannot be transformed, innovative biomanufacturing systems cannot be pioneered, new technological standards cannot be set, and sustained global leadership of the U.S. biomanufacturing industry cannot be guaranteed.

It is imperative that a consortium of academic and industry leaders spearhead a roadmap for next-generation technology that will help to ensure the industry's future growth and stability.

For project information: Lucille Dailey, (978) 934-4704, Lucille_Dailey [at] uml.edu (Lucille_Dailey[at]uml[dot]edu)

Funded Participants:

• University of Washington
• University of Delaware
• University of Maryland
• University of Minnesota
• Tufts University
• Texas A&M University

AMTech Project Manager: Jean-Louis Staudenmann, (301) 975-4866, jean-louis.staudenmann [at] nist.gov (jean-louis[dot]staudenmann[at]nist[dot]gov)