API Innovation Center Secures $14M to Boost U.S. Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

• API Innovation Center awarded $14M to develop critical APIs for asthma, diabetes, and anxiety treatments.

• Project aims to strengthen U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain resilience and enhance national health security.

The API Innovation Center (APIIC) has secured $14 million in funding from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response’s (ASPR) Center for Industrial Base Management and Supply Chain (IBMSC). This funding supports the domestic production of three critical active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that treat asthma, diabetes, and anxiety. The selected APIs—albuterol, desmopressin acetate, and lorazepam—are listed as essential medicines and have a history of shortages.

The project will involve a $2.4 million investment from APIIC, aiming to strengthen pharmaceutical innovation and enhance U.S. supply chain resilience. Tony Sardella, chair and founder of APIIC, highlighted the significance of this funding in securing the nation’s pharmaceutical resilience, stating, “We are creating a private-public blueprint for driving self-reliance that is essential for national health security.”

APIIC will work in collaboration with pharmaceutical manufacturers and research institutions such as Mallinckrodt Specialty Generics, Apertus Pharmaceuticals, MilliporeSigma, and the University of Missouri–St. Louis. These partnerships will leverage advanced manufacturing technologies to improve production efficiency and ensure consistent access to critical medications.

The initiative also forms part of the “Missouri Model,” a state-supported strategy to bolster local manufacturing capacity and workforce development. Missouri has already committed $18 million to these reshoring efforts, with the aim of creating a sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem that can be replicated across the U.S.