INDIANAPOLIS — A major pharmaceutical company with operations in central Indiana will help make a possible vaccine for the coronavirus.
Catalent has signed an agreement to manufacture Johnson & Johnson’s lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19 in the United States.
The company will use it’s 875,000-square-foot facility in Bloomington for the operation.
Johnson & Johnson has been working on a coronavirus vaccine since January. They hope to start clinical trials by September at the latest. Plans call for Catalent to hire about 300 additional employees in Bloomington to help get the vaccine to Americans.
“We’re happy that we’re able to help the community, and really, I think the employees are very engaged and feel good about the fact that we’re working on something impacts everybody around them,” said Denis Johnson, vice president and general manager of Catalent in Bloomington.
Catalent says they are looking to start the manufacturing process in July with the ability to run around the clock by January.
