BioMADE, a Department of Defense-sponsored manufacturing innovation institute, has received a budget hike of about $450 million from DOD to help advance bioindustrial manufacturing education and innovation.
“BioMADE’s research and development is already yielding significant progress in biomanufactured proteins, chemicals, fabrics, rubber, and more,” BioMADE CEO Douglas Friedman said in a statement published Tuesday.
“The Department of Defense’s leadership in raising the contract ceiling will enable vastly expanded federal partnerships that will advance technology and build talent in the biomanufacturing ecosystem,” added Friedman.
Launched in 2021, BioMADE has invested over $75 million in nearly 40 projects that seek to develop biomanufactured products, advance defense capabilities, support workforce training and equipment design and accelerate technology commercialization efforts.
In September 2022, the Pentagon announced plans to invest $1.2 billion in biomanufacturing. The move came days after President Joe Biden signed an executive order to advance biotechnology and biomanufacturing innovation in the U.S.
