FLC | BARDA, DoD partner with RTI to supply needles and syringes for COVID-19

BARDA, DoD partner with RTI to supply needles and syringes for COVID-19

July 9, 2020

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Department of Defense’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) established a Technology Investment Agreement with Retractable Technologies, Inc. (RTI) to expand RTI’s manufacturing capacity to produce safety needles and syringes in the United States.

By taking steps to increase the ability to produce safety needles and syringes in the U.S., the federal government can reduce the nation’s dependence on other countries to provide these potentially lifesaving supplies. This expansion is even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic as existing supplies are used in routine healthcare and to treat the surge of COVID-19 patients.

HHS and DoD are working together as part of Operation Warp Speed to ensure the availability of needles and syringes. This effort supports expansion of Little Elm, Texas-based RTI’s domestic manufacturing capacity by at least 50% within 12 months of award. Once the capacity to produce at least 350 million safety needles and syringe units per year is achieved, the U.S. government’s private industry partners will receive priority in purchasing these syringes and needles, needed to administer COVID-19 medical countermeasures, such as vaccines.