WPI, UMass Medical to join $250M federal biomanufacturing institute

Worcester Polytechnic Institute was named as a partner for a $250 million national biomanufacturing innovation institute.

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By Laura Finaldi

Massachusetts will anchor the northeastern confluence of the first American biopharmaceutical manufacturing innovation institute, and two Worcester institutions will be closely involved.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the University of Massachusetts Medical School were both named as biopharmaceutical partners for the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL), a $250 million public-private partnership convened by the University of Delaware and authorized through a federal network of manufacturing innovation institutes, according to a release from Gov. Charlie Baker’s office.

The goal of NIIMBL is to solve challenges relating to the production, testing and regulation of new medical treatments in response to industry changes, and to train an advanced manufacturing workforce capable of working with new technologies, according to the release. The project is being supported by the commonwealth through a five-year, $20 million commitment from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

In a press release, WPI President Laurie Leshin said that WPI will leverage its three existing bioscience facilities as resources for organizations looking to gain a competitive advantage in advanced manufacturing.