US backs $80 million drug supply project

Washington: The US Department of War announced an $80 million conditional loan commitment to biotechnology company Antheia to expand domestic production of essential pharmaceutical ingredients, as the Trump administration seeks to reduce American dependence on overseas suppliers of critical medicines.

The financing, offered through the department's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), is intended to help the company establish manufacturing operations in the United States for key starting materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients used in generic medicines.

The announcement marks another step in Washington's effort to treat pharmaceutical supply chains as a national security priority, bringing medicine manufacturing within the scope of investments traditionally associated with defence and strategic industries.

The department said the commitment, alongside additional private capital, would support Antheia's plans to expand domestic biomanufacturing capacity.

However, the $80 million represents a conditional financing commitment, not money already disbursed. The company must satisfy financial, legal, technical, investment and due diligence requirements before the arrangement can reach financial close.

According to the department, most key starting materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients used in medicines are currently manufactured outside the United States.

The administration believes this dependence creates vulnerabilities in the availability of essential medicines, particularly during international emergencies, supply-chain disruptions and sudden increases in demand.

Antheia specialises in a manufacturing process that uses bioengineered yeast to convert sugar directly into pharmaceutical starting materials and active ingredients through fermentation.

The technology is intended to provide an alternative to conventional chemical manufacturing processes and enable more flexible production of critical medicines.

"Antheia's biosynthesis platform represents an innovative method to establish cost-effective domestic supply chains which enable to the United States to compete globally," said David A. Lorch, director of the Office of Strategic Capital and senior adviser to Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg.

Lorch said the proposed financing would strengthen the supply chain for essential medicines.

The department said Antheia currently relies on contract manufacturing partners abroad because sufficient domestic production capacity is unavailable.

The proposed investment would allow the company to establish manufacturing operations in the United States and reduce its dependence on overseas facilities.

Akshaya Trivedi, managing director for investments at the Office of Strategic Capital, described the commitment as an opportunity to establish domestic supply chains for materials used in important pharmaceutical products.

The project also supports an executive order issued during Trump's first presidency aimed at increasing American production of essential medicines, medical countermeasures and critical pharmaceutical inputs.

Emil Michael, under secretary of war for research and engineering, said the financing was consistent with the department's technology priorities.

"Biomanufacturing is one of the Department of War's six critical technology areas, making domestic production an imperative," Michael said.

The department did not specify when the financing would close or when Antheia's expanded domestic manufacturing operations would begin commercial production.

The announcement comes as the United States continues efforts to rebuild manufacturing capacity in strategically important sectors, including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, energy technologies and critical minerals.

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