President Donald Trump signed a four-year $345 million contract with Richmond, Va.-based drugmaker Phlow Corp. May 19 to create a national COVID-19 medication stockpile, according to The New York Times.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority awarded Phlow with the contract to manufacture the raw pharmaceutical ingredients needed to make popular generics and drugs that treat COVID-19, most of which are now produced in India and China.
The contract "will not only help bring our essential medicines home but actually do so in a way that is cost competitive with the sweatshops and pollution havens of the world," said Peter Navarro, Mr. Trump's trade advisor.
Phlow has partnered with nonprofit drugmaker Civica Rx to produce the stockpile. They will first focus on manufacturing critical care medicine for COVID-19 patients, such as antibiotics and medicines used for ventilator support and pain, according to Eric Edwards, MD, PhD, CEO and president of Phlow.
"The use of advanced technology will allow for faster production of drugs, reduce the potential for error and enable a nimbler approach to changing market demands such as the urgent need for medications we’ve seen during the COVID-19 pandemic," the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists said in a statement sent to Becker's. "We believe that this new agreement is a strong first step towards creating a safer, more reliable drug supply in the US."