COVID-19 Vaccine Vial Manufacturer SiO2 Hits New Milestone, Delivering Vials to Support Over 100 Million Doses

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Dec 21, 2020, 17:06 ET

AUBURN, Ala., Dec. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SiO2 Materials Science, a privately-owned US-based advanced materials science company, today announced successfully reaching another significant milestone, delivering vials to support over 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine since joining Operation Warp Speed this summer.

The vials manufactured by SiO2 are being used by leading drugmakers developing COVID-19 vaccines. The vials delivered since June will be used to support more than 100 million doses of vaccine.

In June, as concerns around a glass vial shortage and overdependence on European vial manufacturers grew, SiO2 received a $143 million dollar investment from the U.S. government to increase their manufacturing capacity and secure a domestic supply of vaccine vials and syringes.

SiO2's Auburn, Alabama facility went from manufacturing 10 million vials per year to over 10 million vials per month and their local workforce grew from 100 employees to over 500. Each vial manufactured by SiO2 is multi-dose and can hold anywhere from 8-10 doses of vaccine.

Because the vials do not rely on the traditional sand-to-glass supply chain like traditional glass vials, they were able to increase their capacity in four months while other vial makers needed 18 - 24 months to achieve the same outcome.

"Scaling our manufacturing capacity this aggressively has been challenging but thanks to the incredible effort of over 500 American workers who are driven by a powerful mission to help save the world one vial at a time, we've come together to make it happen," said Lawrence Ganti, Chief Business Officer. "With our factory expansion complete, we now have the capacity to support up to 100 million doses of vaccine per month."

The nationwide COVID-19 vaccine distribution effort currently underway is the largest vaccination effort in US history. As Americans wait for a vaccine, attention is now focused on the complex supply chain that will be required to safely distribute the vaccines across the country.

"We're proud of how quickly we increased our capacity but what we offer isn't just about scale. It's about safety. Traditional glass vials can break, shred, and leak potential metal ions that put patients at risk," said Chris Weikart, Chief Scientist of SiO2. "We spent over a decade and $500 million dollars to develop the material used in our smart vials. Our smart vials eliminate over 30 problems which traditional glass vials have. We are simply a safer vial for patients. "

To find out more about SiO2, click here.

About SiO2 Materials Science:

Managed by the same family for more than 100 years, SiO2 Materials Science is a privately owned U.S. advanced materials science corporation introducing breakthrough disruptive technology. The company is located in Auburn, Alabama. The company has deep partnerships with leading professors at the foremost research universities such as University of California, University of Chicago, MIT, and CalTech. For more information, visit www.sio2ms.com.

Media Contact:

Brett Stapper
[email protected]

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SOURCE SiO2 Materials Science