Thermo Fisher Scientific has received a contract from the U.S. government to provide highly specialized viral transport media (VTM) for COVID-19 sample collection. The VTM is used during collection of patient samples for proper transport to laboratories that can test for the presence of the virus.
 
To ensure accuracy of COVID-19 test results, VTM must be manufactured and dispensed into tubes in an aseptic environment. Thermo Fisher currently produces VTM at its site in Lenexa, KS, which meets this requirement, and has ramped production from 50,000 to more than one million VTM-filled tubes per week.
 
Given the significant demand for COVID-19 testing and associated sample collection, Thermo Fisher will expand capacity in Lenexa with a new $40 million facility dedicated to VTM production and quality control. The added capacity and increased efficiencies will allow the company to scale production to more than eight million VTM-filled tubes per week.
 
The company plans to complete the new Lenexa facility in the third quarter and expects that it will create approximately 300 new full-time jobs.
 
“Our production ramp-up in Lenexa has been impressive and our employees deserve recognition for their ingenuity and dedication to making this happen,” said Marc Casper, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “We have a proven blueprint for high-quality VTM production in Lenexa and look forward to bringing significant new capacity on line as quickly as possible to continue the necessary testing ramp-up in the U.S.”