Following up on the recent article Two Maryland Biotechs Partner to Bring Coronavirus/COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate into Clinical Trials, BioBuzz had the opportunity to speak with Emergent BioSolutions Executive Vice President, Manufacturing and Technical Operations, Sean Kirk.
Let’s start by having you provide a brief background on your role at Emergent.
I have been with the company for nearly 17 years, and have had the good fortune of working in and being responsible for many key parts of the business including manufacturing operations, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, product development, U.S. government program management, global operational excellence, global supply chain, medical and clinical affairs. In these roles I have spent a lot of time across Emergent’s sites and have been based in Lansing, Mich. – where I started – Gaithersburg, Md, and Winnipeg, Manitoba. I am currently responsible for the oversight of global manufacturing operations, supply chain management, global operational excellence, medical/clinical/regulatory affairs, and our CDMO Business Unit, and I am based out of our headquarters in Gaithersburg.
With the evolving news around COVID-19 and your partnership with Novavax being announced last week to work on a vaccine, what can you tell us about Emergent that most people wouldn’t know?
For 22 years, Emergent’s mission has remained the same – to protect and enhance life. Our focus has been on products and services that address serious public health threats, such as biological and chemical warfare agents, emerging infectious diseases, and opioid overdoses. The current COVID-19 challenge we are facing is complex and Emergent is committed to a multi-faceted response as we marshal our resources, such as the capabilities, capacities, and expertise of our network in support of our Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) Business Unit. For COVID-19 specifically, three of our Maryland facilities are involved, including our Gaithersburg labs, our Emergent Bayview facility in Baltimore, which is designated as a Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and our Camden fill/finish facility, which is also in Baltimore. We also have our decades-long history in vaccines and therapeutics to offer.
Read the full article on BioBuzz.