Delaware State University leads biopharma talent development project

The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) announced last month that it will be putting up $4.3 million in funding for 15 new technology and talent development projects designed — and one of them is a Delaware State University project.

“These new projects further strengthen NIIMBL’s commitment to addressing common challenges and advancing manufacturing technologies and talent development programs for the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry,” said NIIMBL Institute Director Kelvin Lee in a press statement. “We look forward to working closely with these teams as these projects develop.”

The DSU-led project is called WORDE (Workforce, Outreach, Research, Diversity, and Education), a biopharmaceutical training center being developed for the school’s Wilmington campus with Merck and Solano College of Fairfield, California.

“Through the purchasing of key equipment, professional development via train-the-trainer, and the creation of curriculum, Delaware State will be positioned to offer biopharmaceutical curriculum to its student population,” reads the project description from NIIMBL’s press announcement.

DSU, a Dover-based public university with campuses in both Wilmington and Georgetown, was recently ranked as the top public HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) in the U.S. by the Wall Street Journal and London Times.

NIIMBL’s portfolio now includes 58 projects that have collectively received nearly $58 million since 2017, per the announcement. A total of 77 organizations actively participate on NIIMBL-funded technology and talent development projects.