Secretary of Commerce visits UD to announce new institute
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker visited the University of Delaware today, where she announced a new institute to advance U.S. leadership in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The Newark-based National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) will be the 11th Manufacturing USA Institute.
Biopharmaceuticals are prescription drugs made with living cells. Most drugs are chemistry-based and far easier to produce. The biopharmaceutical category includes vaccines, cancer drugs and drugs to treat autoimmune diseases, as well as emerging drugs for cell and gene therapies.
The institute will focus on bringing safe drugs to market faster and on developing workforce training. The biopharmaceutical field has a negative unemployment rate, with more jobs available than there are qualified workers.