Croda opens new lipid manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania

BRITISH chemicals manufacturer Croda has opened a factory in the US to produce lipids that will be used in vaccines.

The new 23,860 ft² facility sits on an existing site in Lamar, Pennsylvania and will specialise in producing lipids for drug delivery systems for mRNA vaccines, new cancer treatments, and other therapies.

The opening of the new lipid factory aligns with Croda’s expansion into pharmaceuticals, which was powered by the company’s direct involvement in producing delivery systems for Covid mRNA vaccines.

David Cherry, interim president of life sciences at Croda, said: “Opening this facility demonstrates our commitment to advancing health through innovation and collaboration.

“By expanding our lipid manufacturing capabilities, we are not only meeting the growing demands of the pharmaceutical industry, but we are also ensuring we are prepared to support future public health emergencies, all while remaining true to our purpose of improving lives through smart science.”

Side effects

Croda’s expansion in the US was supported by US$64.7m in funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) throughout 2023/24, which Croda topped up with US$58m of their own investment.

However, the new factory’s opening was followed by a decision from the HHS, led by long-term anti-vaccine campaigner Robert F Kennedy Jr, to cancel federal funding for vaccine research. It has not yet been confirmed whether this will apply to all research or just specific studies. The move will not directly affect manufacturing but is expected to impact preparedness for future pandemics.

HHS said their decision was made on the basis that “the Covid-19 pandemic is over” and that the department would “no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago”.

The studies impacted by the funding withdrawal are not exclusively Covid-19 related research, however. Science reported last week that a scrapped US$577m grant supported studies into treatment for ebola, zika, measles, yellow fever, and other viral infections.