On August 24, 2021, the Department of Defense (DOD), on behalf of and in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, awarded a $14.7 million contract to SteriPack to develop domestic production capability of ExpressCollect (Swab-in-Tube) that is compatible with nasal swab tests.
SteriPack’s ExpressCollect is a unique collection vial with integrated polyester spun swab for anterior nares sample collection. This industrial base expansion effort will allow SteriPack to establish new domestic production of approximately 22 million vials per month. The automated production line will be operational within SteriPack’s Lakeland, Florida, facility, which is scheduled to be at full capacity by February 2022. This effort is in support of domestic COVID-19 testing and clinical trials.
The DOD’s Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell (DA2) led this effort in coordination with the Department of the Air Force’s Acquisition COVID-19 Task Force (DAF ACT). This effort was funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to enable and support domestic industrial base expansion for critical medical resources.