A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Monday for the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals’ (NIIMBL) new Securing American Biomanufacturing Research and Education (SABRE) Center on the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus in Newark.
The SABRE Center will serve as a pilot-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility to support the work of NIIMBL and enable the growth of the larger biopharmaceutical industry in Delaware and the region.
“Today’s groundbreaking builds upon all the years of work that has gone into transforming the once-shuttered Chrysler plant into the research and development hub it is today,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Carper.“This facility will be a training center for our future biopharmaceutical workforce, as well as a testing center for biopharma companies to test their products in an FDA-regulated environment – giving us a competitive advantage to attract companies and researchers to the First State. I’m so proud of the different ways Delaware is continuing to be a force in R&D. Here, we have a vibrant research community at the University of Delaware, especially in the life sciences, thanks in large part to the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. This has served as a great model for collaboration among education, and the private and public sector.”
“This exciting testbed and facility, supported by our federal delegation and by our state, promises to accelerate the adoption of innovative manufacturing technologies and help address critical workforce needs in support of our economic competitiveness and our public health,” said Kelvin H. Lee, PhD,the director of NIIMBL.
According to a release, when completed, the SABRE Center will be a 90,000-square-foot pilot-scale biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility complementing the work already taking place at NIIMBL. It will also serve as a workforce training facility for industry in Delaware and the region and is expected to help bring biopharmaceutical firms to the state and top talent from NIIMBL member companies to Newark for collaborative work.
The federal government has to date invested $45 million in the SABRE Center, $10 million of which was a result of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law in 2021. The Delaware congressional delegation secured an additional $35 million for the center through congressional investments, including $12.25 million included in the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill signed into law last month.
NIIMBL was formed to advance pharmaceutical manufacturing in the U.S. Concern has been growing that the US is falling behind other nations in this area.
