Texas A&M System Stands Ready to Respond to COVID-19
Three State-of-the-Art Manufacturing Facilities Only Need an Order from U.S. Government
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M University System is beginning to get questions about the status of its vaccine manufacturing capabilities. You may attribute this statement to me:
“The Texas A&M University System completed the construction of two new facilities and the retrofitting of a third site on time and on budget in 2017. The System and its subcontractor, FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies (FDB), are ready to respond to an order from the federal government to manufacture vaccines. To date, the System has received no federal order.
“FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies (FDB) owns and operates the facilities, capable of manufacturing a wide range of vaccines and therapeutic products. This means the facilities and a trained workforce are able to respond quickly as soon as a COVID-19 vaccine is developed and safely tested.”
FDB officials echoed the Texas A&M System’s statement:
“FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies (FDB) is utilizing its network of leading scientists, engineers and production facilities in both Europe and the USA, including those located in College Station, Texas to manufacture clinical material in short order to support the global efforts to control COVID-19. FDB stands ready to support United States government efforts to respond to the manufacture of a COVID-19 vaccine.”
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation with a budget of $6.3 billion. The System is a statewide network of 11 universities; a comprehensive health science center; eight state agencies, including the Texas Division of Emergency Management; and the RELLIS Campus. The Texas A&M System educates more than 151,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $1 billion in FY 2019 and helped drive the state’s economy.
Contact: Laylan Copelin
Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
(979) 458-6425
(512) 289-2782 cell
lcopelin@tamus.edu