Ventec Life Systems and General Motors announced today that they completed their government contract to produce 30,000 ventilators. The two companies kicked off mass production of Ventec’s V+Pro critical care ventilator at GM’s Kokomo, Ind., plant in April, having received a $489.4 million contract from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services to deliver […]
Contract Manufacturing
Philips ends ventilator distribution deal with HHS
Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG) announced today that the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Servies partially terminated its ventilator manufacturing contract. Amsterdam-based Philips received the termination notice from HHS after agreeing to a contract in April to deliver 43,000 bundled EV300 ventilator configurations to HHS through December 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. News of the contract termination […]
Thermo Fisher opens plant to make COVID-19 testing supplies
Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) announced today that it has opened its $40 million manufacturing facility in Lenexa, Kan. The facility is dedicated to viral transport media (VTM) but will continue to expand to meet expected demand for COVID-19 testing, according to a news release. In May, Thermo Fisher received a U.S. government contract to provide a […]
BREAKING: U.S. to reportedly pay Abbott $750M for new COVID-19 tests
Multiple reports have said President Trump will announce a $750 million deal with Abbott (NYSE:ABT) for 150 million of its rapid COVID-19 antigen tests. As first reported by Politico before being confirmed by other outlets, a White House official said that Trump will announce the deal tonight, using his speech at the Republican National Convention to […]
Dräger boosts N95 mask production with new U.S. facility opening
Dräger announced today that it is opening a new production facility in Pennsylvania to manufacture N95 respirator masks. Telford, Pa.-based Dräger’s new production facility is located in Montgomeryville, Pa., and is set to begin production in September 2020 with 50 highly skilled jobs slated to be added to the local community. Get the full story […]
600 new ethylene oxide lawsuits filed against Sterigenics in Illinois
More than 600 lawsuits were filed last week against Sterigenics, claiming that emissions from the company’s now-shuttered Willowbrook, Ill., ethylene oxide (EtO) plant caused health problems in people who lived or worked nearby. The filings bring the total of personal-injury lawsuits against the Oak Park, Ill.-based company to more than 700, according to one of more […]
Sterigenics sues Ga. county officials over EtO-related property tax devaluations
Sterigenics has filed a lawsuit against the members of a Georgia county tax board, claiming that the board’s decision to lower valuations on properties near the company’s medical device sterilization plant has harmed its reputation. The federal lawsuit, filed in Atlanta, also claims that the members of the Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors unfairly and […]
Conformis reaches second milestone in Stryker deal
Conformis (NSDQ:CFMS) announced today that it completed the second of three milestones in its license and development agreement with Stryker (NYSE:SYK). Under the agreement, Conformis is set to receive an additional $3 million from Stryker after achieving the milestone as it develops patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) for use in connection with Stryker’s knee implant offerings. “We are pleased […]
Report: Ventilators are piling up in government stockpiles
As the COVID-19 pandemic roars on, the government stockpile of once-in-demand ventilators has reportedly turned into a collection of unused devices. The Washington Post reports that, following the panic caused by an anticipated ventilator shortage and subsequent rush to add to the stockpile after President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act, the approach to treating COVID-19 […]
Vietnam’s Vingroup to supply ventilator parts to Medtronic
When Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) announced in April that it had tapped Foxconn to manufacture ventilators at the Chinese company’s Wisconsin plant, then-Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak said that Medtronic is also working with “major players” in Asia to expedite ventilator production. This week, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate, Vingroup, announced that it had inked a deal for two of its companies — […]
DoD paying Biomérieux subsidiary $3.1M to boost COVID-19 test production
The U.S. government announced that it signed a $3.1 million agreement with Biomérieux subsidiary BioFire to expand production of its COVID-19 test. Government funding came from the U.S. Defense Dept. (DoD), in coordination with the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to a news release. BioFire’s COVID-19 test received FDA emergency use authorization […]