The Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) is responsible for developing and manufacturing large-scale engineered tissues and tissue-related technologies to benefit existing and future industries. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recently announced that ARMI will receive a $51 million grant from the Federal Government to develop portable technology to produce medications and vaccines in an effort to expand access to “critical medical care in places where drugs are logistically and financially difficult to deliver”.
The grant will allow for major biotechnical innovation to fight health security threats and pioneer life-changing scientific advancements to change the face of medicine. Products and developments that will surface from this grant will allow the U.S to recover faster from natural disasters and other health emergencies.
The $51 million grant will be distributed over a five-year period, with U.S Senator Jeanne Shaheen recognizing the importance of the grant in “[attracting] and [retaining] the next generation of innovators”, as well as provide “good-paying jobs…[and] further strengthen the economy”.
ARMI will engage with regional experts and offer an idea lab, dry and wet labs, manufacturing space, and a learning zone, while also creating and managing a commercialization program that engages in private-sector partners to accelerate the adoption of the technologies.
ARMI’s first project will focus on maturing and validating small, portable, automated devices that could be transported easily to disaster locations to make necessary medicines available on-site.
