Catalent to Manufacture J&J’s Lead COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate

Catalent’s Biologics business unit announced the company’s Bloomington, IN facility will accelerate availability of manufacturing capacity and prepare for large-scale commercial manufacturing of Johnson & Johnson’s lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19.

In an April 29, 2020 press announcement, Catalent reported a joint investment with Johnson & Johnson to accelerate scale-up of segregated manufacturing capacity to support dedicated production of the drug company’s investigational vaccine candidate. Catalent said it will hire 300 additional employees for the Bloomington site starting in July 2020 “to meet operational readiness and 24x7 manufacturing schedules by January 2021.”

“Catalent is proud to collaborate with Johnson & Johnson in its efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and save lives,” said John Chiminski, chair and chief executive officer of Catalent, in the press statement. “Both organizations have committed to ambitious goals and are executing innovative strategies to meet the forecasted demand on an unprecedented timeline. We value the trust that Johnson & Johnson has placed in us regarding this important, time-sensitive program and will apply our extensive experience in quickly scaling up manufacturing operations for late-stage and commercial products.”

Catalent’s 875,000-sq.-ft.  Bloomington facility has capacity for sterile formulation, with drug substance development and manufacturing and drug product fill/finish capacity for liquid and lyophilized vials, prefilled syringes, and cartridges, in addition to primary and secondary packaging.

Source: Catalent