TriLink BioTechnologies, Part of Maravai LifeSciences, Announces Cooperative Agreement With Department of Defense

DOD to fund planned manufacturing expansion and to prepare the U.S. for a rapid response to the next pandemic as part of Industrial Base Expansion

SAN DIEGO, May 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TriLink BioTechnologies (TriLink), a Maravai LifeSciences company (Maravai) (NASDAQ: MRVI), and a leader in the production of nucleic acids for research, diagnostics and therapeutics applications, today announced a Cooperative Agreement with the Army Contracting Command, in coordination with the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) on behalf of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to expand TriLink’s domestic production capacity for products critical to the development and manufacture of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics, including nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) and CleanCap®, TriLink’s proprietary co-transcriptional mRNA capping reagents. This agreement includes funding for TriLink’s planned expansion of its Nucleic Acid Production capabilities in San Diego, California.

“TriLink has experienced substantial demand for a wide range of nucleic acid products in support of multiple COVID-19 mRNA vaccine manufacturing programs,” stated Carl Hull, CEO of Maravai. “We are pleased to partner with the DOD and HHS on this critical capacity expansion. It has been incredibly fulfilling for our team to be able to make a direct impact fighting the pandemic by supplying raw materials for use in life-saving vaccines. This cooperative agreement also serves to further prepare the U.S. for any future pandemic.”

TriLink is expanding its San Diego manufacturing campus by making a significant investment in additional cleanroom and small molecule manufacturing space, implementing automation systems and adding support areas to augment production capacity.   Under the agreement, the DOD funds up to $39 million cost of facility construction and validation under a cost-sharing arrangement.

“While we have seen increased demand on the basis of COVID-19 vaccines, our products are also key pieces in the development and manufacture of other mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. It’s critical that we be able to support all our customers, both now and in the future,” said Brian Neel, Chief Operating Officer, of TriLink. “This planned expansion, which will provide a substantial increase in capacity, is just the latest investment we are making to ensure that we scale rapidly in response to our customers’ needs.”

This project will be funded with federal funds from DOD on behalf of and in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under contract number W58P052220010.

About JPEO-CBRND
About the JPEO-CBRND: The Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) protects the Joint Force by providing medical countermeasures and defense equipment against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats. JPEO-CBRND’s goal is to enable the Joint Force to fight and win unencumbered by a CBRN environment. JPEO-CBRND facilitates the rapid response, advanced development, manufacturing and acquisition of medical solutions, such as vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, to combat CBRN and emerging threats such as COVID-19. To learn more about JPEO-CBRND’s COVID-19 response, visit https://www.jpeocbrnd.osd.mil/coronavirus or follow JPEO-CBRND on social media at @JPEOCBRND.

About TriLink BioTechnologies
TriLink BioTechnologies, part of Maravai LifeSciences, is a CDMO helping life science leaders and innovators overcome challenges in the synthesis and scale-up of nucleic acids, NTPs and mRNA capping analogs with scale-up expertise and unique mRNA production capabilities, including its proprietary CleanCap® mRNA capping technology. TriLink continues to expand its cGMP and general manufacturing capacity at its new global headquarters to support mRNA, oligonucleotide & plasmid therapeutic, vaccine and diagnostic customers. 

For more information about TriLink, visit www.trilinkbiotech.com. 

About Maravai
Maravai is a leading life sciences company providing critical products to enable the development of drug therapies, diagnostics and novel vaccines. Maravai’s companies are leaders in providing products and services in the fields of nucleic acid synthesis and biologics safety testing to many of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical, vaccine, diagnostics, and cell and gene therapy companies.

For more information about Maravai LifeSciences, visit www.maravai.com. 

Forward-looking Statements
This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release which are not strictly historical statements constitute forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements related to the expected expansion of manufacturing capacity and increased demand for nucleic acid products, constitute forward-looking statements identified by words like “expect,” “may,” “anticipate,” or “could” and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, without limitation and uncertainties related to continued validation of the safety and effectiveness of our technology, new scientific developments and competition from other products, and continued demand for our COVID-19 related products and services, which currently comprise a significant portion of our revenue. These and other risks and uncertainties are described in greater detail in the “Risk Factors” section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as other reports on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements, and therefore you should not rely upon them. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views and we do not undertake to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views or events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof except as required by law.

CONTACT: Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Sara Michelmore
MacDougall
+1 781-235-3060
maravai@macbiocom.com

Investor Contact:
Deb Hart
Maravai LifeSciences
+ 1 858-988-5917
ir@maravai.com