In February, engineer-procure-construct contractor CRB was in the final stages of construction on a new production facility for Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM) in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Process qualification—in which federal and pharmaceutical industry authorities inspect and approve a manufacturing facility, steps that can take up to a year—loomed. The plant was designed and built by CRB to formulate and produce drugs prescribed by doctors that are developed and owned by companies such as Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Then COVID-19 happened.