Pfizer already manufactures COVID-19 vaccines in Portage. Now it will make a COVID-fighting antiviral pill there as well.
The treatment is called Paxlovid. If taken early enough it’s been shown to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization in high-risk patients.
The company said Monday that it will invest $120 million in its Portage plant so it can make Paxlovid.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer attended a press event announcing those plans at the Portage plant on Monday. She wore a T-shirt reading, “Science Will Win.”
“With this investment in Kalamazoo, we’re shoring up our supply chain and showing the world that Michigan is the place to be for companies that want to do big things and need an incredible workforce to accomplish those things,” Whitmer said.
Pfizer said it’s already begun to make Paxlovid at the Kalamazoo-area plant.
The company’s Chief Global Supply Officer Mike McDermott said Pfizer would also add new facilities so it can make even more.
“Production begins today and the expansion continues over the next year, as we bring in those wonderful jobs and more and more capacity to the site.”
The company said it expects the expansion to create about 250 jobs.
Copyright 2022 Michigan Radio. To see more, visit Michigan Radio.
