Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM) disclosed on Thursday that it has been selected by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Defense to support the expansion of the nation's capacity for manufacturing and distributing vaccines or therapeutics related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By providing the capacity to perform advanced aseptic fill and finish services -- the last two steps in the manufacturing process for vaccines or other therapeutics -- GRAM is helping to ensure that the country will have sufficient domestic supply to make life-saving biopharmaceutical products available as quickly as possible.

Through this public-private partnership, the US Government is reserving fill/finish capacity on a commercial filling line for use by federal partners that are developing COVID-19 vaccines or therapeutic treatments.

GRAM will utilize its new 60,000 sq ft large-scale fill/finish facility located in Grand Rapids, Michigan to support the effort. In total, the CDMO has three manufacturing facilities and more than 100,000 sq ft of production space. GRAM's large-scale fill/finish facility was designed for growth and contains additional space to add more equipment and fill suites as demand continues.

As well as supporting the Government's Operation Warp Speed efforts and the COVID-19 pandemic response, GRAM's capacity increases US preparedness for future public health emergencies.