Merck And NJII Receive NIIMBL Award For Biopharmaceutical Workforce Training Acceleration Project

The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), an NJIT Corporation, and Merck have been awarded a Biopharmaceutical Workforce Training Acceleration Project by the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL), a Manufacturing USA institute designed to advance biopharmaceutical manufacturing in the U.S.

The purpose of the Biopharmaceutical Training Acceleration Proposal is to provide funding for the development of a training program to enable incumbent employees in the biopharmaceutical industry to acquire competencies in the bioprocess development and manufacturing operations related to the biologics field. The project is led by NJII Senior Executive Director of Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Innovation, Haro Hartounian, Ph.D. who will serve as both the principal investigator and project manager. Steve Dziennik, Ph.D., of Merck and Lorrie Howell will serve as co-principal investigators.

Hartounian stated, “Providing a training plan and curriculum for biopharmaceuticals will create a mechanism for large-scale adoption. Rather than each company needing to struggle with its own workforce training design, they will be able to plug into a training plan and curriculum that has already

been thought through and vetted by industry. Importantly, the creation of role descriptions and proficiency levels can set the stage for the development of training standards in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and processing that do not now exist. Such standards will strengthen the industry overall and lead to a stronger global workforce.”

About NJII
The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) is an NJIT corporation that applies the intellectual and technological resources of the state’s science and technology university to challenges identified by industry partners. Through its Innovation Labs (iLabs), NJII brings NJIT expertise to key economic sectors, including healthcare delivery systems, bio-pharmaceutical production, civil infrastructure, defense and homeland security, and financial services.