(WXYZ) — Pfizer announced Monday it is investing $120 million and adding hundreds of jobs at the Kalamazoo plant to increase production of COVID-19 treatment.
According to Pfizer, the investment will create 250 high-skilled jobs and expand the production of PAXLOVID, the oral COVID-19 treatment created by the drugmaker.
The plant was also the first to begin shipping COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020.
The drugmaker said that the investment will also expand the production of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and registered starting materials (RSMs) used in the manufacture of nirmatrelvir, a novel main protease (Mpro) inhibitor.
RSMs are raw materials that are chemically converted into API, which is the active ingredient in a medicine.
Pfizer also said it plans to expand a production facility in Kalamazoo with a phase two investment.
“Pfizer’s Kalamazoo facility has been at the forefront of pharmaceutical manufacturing for more than 135 years through the legacy company Upjohn,” Pfizer Chief Global Supply Officer Mike McDermott added in a statement. “The Kalamazoo facility uses some of our most innovative manufacturing technology and has been essential in Pfizer’s fight against COVID-19, producing nearly one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine at the site to date. Through this expansion, we will continue to invest in the next generation of manufacturing and supply chain resilience.”
