Sanofi and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently announced the groundbreaking of a new, state-of-the-art formulation and filling facility at Sanofi's Swiftwater site in Pennsylvania, US.

The new formulation and filling facility will be a two-story building complete with current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) formulation, filling, and support areas. The filler will be capable of filling syringe and vials using isolator barrier technology and single use technology for flexibility. 

The Sanofi-BARDA contract supports the clinical development of an adjuvanted recombinant pandemic influenza vaccine that utilises the same technology as Sanofi's recombinant quadrivalent influenza vaccine. The contract also expands the Swiftwater site's capacity to be a centre of excellence for pandemic preparedness by enhancing vaccine manufacturing, adding both recombinant and adjuvant technologies to the current egg-based platform capabilities.