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Operation Warp Speed selects Grand Rapids company to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine

Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing facility photo
Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing

A Grand Rapids company has received a contract from the federal government to manufacture an approved COVID-19 vaccine.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services describes Operation Warp Speed’s mission as aiming “to deliver 300 million doses of a safe, effective vaccine for COVID-19 by January 2021.” It and the U.S. Department of Defense have selected Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing to deliver millions of vials.

Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing logo
Credit Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing
Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing

“The big pharma companies that are working on the vaccine are deep into their clinical trials and their formulation work. And what the government has done with this contract is it would enable us, GRAM, to be working with one of these big pharma companies to actually manufacture the vaccine at our facility in Grand Rapids.”

Credit Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing
Thomas Ross, President Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing

GRAM CEO, Tom Ross, says it’s an honor to be selected. The government is financially backing it and a number of drug makers including; AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merc, Moderna and NovaVax. Ross is forbidden to disclose his company’s pairing.

“I’m tremendously impressed with the work that’s been done and where we’re at right now. It really is a tremendous achievement, already.”

Ross is confident a vaccine will be ready in early 2021.

The U.S. Government has reserved 100% of GRAMS state-of-the-art line capacity housed within its 60,000 square foot finish/fill facility.

I’m Patrick Center.

Patrick joined WGVU Public Media in December, 2008 after eight years of investigative reporting at Grand Rapids' WOOD-TV8 and three years at WYTV News Channel 33 in Youngstown, Ohio. As News and Public Affairs Director, Patrick manages our daily radio news operation and public interest television programming. An award-winning reporter, Patrick has won multiple Michigan Associated Press Best Reporter/Anchor awards and is a three-time Academy of Television Arts & Sciences EMMY Award winner with 14 nominations.