U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with restaurant executives and industry leaders during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic meeting in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has awarded a $354 million contract to U.S.-based Phlow Corp to manufacture drugs being tested or used to fight the new coronavirus as well as some medicines that are in shortage.
Virginia-based Phlow Corp said it had started making pharmaceutical ingredients and finished dosage forms for over a dozen essential medicines to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19-related illnesses.
Many of these medicines are in shortage and have previously been imported from other countries, the private company said in a statement.
India and China account for a vast majority of active pharmaceutical ingredients used to make drugs in the United States.
The funding immediately enabled Phlow to deliver over 1.6 million doses of five essential generic medicines used to treat COVID-19 patients to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), it said.
The four-year contract will allow Phlow to lead a team of private sector entities that includes Civica Rx, Ampac Fine Chemicals and the Medicines for All Institute.
All pharmaceutical products by Phlow will be made in the United States, according to the company’s website.
Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill