[ad_1]
Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world’s largest company offering products and services for science, opened 5.5 thousand today. square meters of production building. The new development project allowed the company to increase the production of reagents for companies developing mRNA-based therapies. These reagents will also be used to develop vaccines to combat the COVID-19 virus.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė, Mayor of Vilnius Remigijus Šimašius, United States Ambassador to Lithuania Robertas S. Gilchristas, and other guests participated in the virtual inauguration event and highlighted the importance of the new plant.
“The opening of a new Thermo Fisher Scientific production unit in Vilnius is a sign that Lithuania’s life sciences sector continues to flourish and expand, putting our country’s name on the map of innovations that will determine the future. of the world. We can be proud that the components of the vaccines produced in Lithuania are already helping to save the lives of many people around the world, ”said the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda.
“By opening a new production building, you are also opening the door to new opportunities. The production process based on the latest scientific advances and the fast pace of reagent production and supply offer hope that we can test and identify virus outbreaks even faster and accelerate the production and supply of vaccines. Furthermore, the new jobs for highly skilled specialists are an investment in the kind of Lithuania that we want to create, ”said the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, Ingrida Šimonytė.
“This development contributes significantly to efforts to manage the global COVID-19 pandemic: Thermo Fisher’s new production capacity will allow coronavirus vaccine manufacturers to more efficiently source the necessary reagents,” said Algimantas Markauskas. , vice president and general manager of the company’s Vilnius division.
The new building was built and equipped in a very short time: 4 months. The production is carried out in accordance with the international requirements of Good Manufacturing Practices. The proteins and nucleotides produced here are critical not only for vaccine development, but also for other promising therapeutic solutions based on mRNA technology.
The expanded production capacity has created nearly 150 new jobs for biotechnologists, chemists, quality assurance and logistics professionals. Currently, the Vilnius branch employs 1,300 people in various roles, including 160 scientists and researchers, making it one of the largest private research and development centers in Central and Eastern Europe.
“Today, we can see once again how strong Lithuania’s position is on the world map of biotechnology. Foreign investors value Lithuanian researchers, the quality of their research, and create jobs for these world-class specialists. “Thermo Fisher Scientific shows assured leadership in business and scientific cooperation, and the aim of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation is to do everything possible to make such cooperation more attractive and to make Lithuania even more attractive to foreign companies creating a high added value “.”, said the Minister of Economy and Innovation. Aušrinė Armonaitė.
“I am pleased to observe the development of Thermo Fisher Scientific in Vilnius. This is an example of how the private sector can play an important role in maintaining our bilateral relations with Lithuania, creating high value-added jobs and strengthening the development of science in the Baltic region, ”said the US Ambassador to Lithuania.
“First of all, I want to be happy that if we go back a year as soon as we see the emerging threats, it was already said that only vaccines would save us. The vaccines were said to take a year and a half to arrive. Today we see that it has not taken more than a year and we are all currently working to implement universal vaccination. The fact that we are so much faster and more efficient is amazing. Today, humanity is stronger, so I congratulate scientists for moving forward. This is a response to those who say that progress is not being made. The greatest respect for the scientific community. I am glad that Vilnius, being a medium-sized city, is a megapolis in the field of biotechnology. I see a great prospect that Vilnius can continue to grow in this area and it is a place where the future is being created, ”says Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius.
The Vilnius branch of Thermo Fisher made a significant contribution to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spring, the company began manufacturing the reagents needed for Covid-19 high-precision molecular biology (PCR) tests. The division operating in Vilnius is one of the largest companies in the Baltic States and has received several important awards for its scientific and social activities.
Thermo Fisher’s Vilnius division develops, manufactures and distributes products for life science research and diagnostics in world markets. The products are widely used around the world to study the structure, expression and diversity of genes, to develop new diagnostic methods for congenital, inherited and infectious diseases.
