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Pfizer to expand manufacture of Paxlovid in Portage

Pfizer Paxlovid pills
Thomas Hansmann/Pfizer
Pfizer Paxlovid pills

Pfizer already manufactures COVID-19 vaccines in Portage. Now it will make an important COVID-fighting anti-viral pill there as well. The treatment is called Paxlovid. If taken early enough it’s been shown to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization in high-risk patients. The company says it’ll invest $120 million in its Portage plant so it can make Paxlovid. Governor Gretchen Whitmer attended a press event announcing those plans at the Portage plant today (Monday).

"With this investment in Kalamazoo, we’re shoring up our supply chain and showing the world that Michigan is the place to be for companies that want to do big things and need an incredible workforce to accomplish those things."

Pfizer says already begun making Paxlovid at the Kalamazoo-area plant. But it’ll add new facilities so it can make even more.

Sehvilla Mann joined WMUK’s news team in January 2014 as a reporter on the local government and education beats. Before that she covered a variety of topics, including environmental issues, for Bloomington, Indiana NPR and PBS affiliates WFIU and WTIU. She’s also written and produced stories for the Pacifica Network and WYSO Public Radio in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Sehvilla holds a B.A. in French from Earlham College and an M.A. in journalism from Indiana University.