NEW LISBON, Wis., March 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Walker Barrier Systems, a producer of isolation and containment equipment within Wabash National Corporation's (NYSE:WNC) Walker Group division, announced today that it has built and delivered the first of eight mobile clean rooms for the Texas A&M Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM). Walker Barrier Systems has more than 20 years of experience providing isolation equipment to more than 100 companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
"The ability to leverage Walker Barrier Systems' position as the leading brand of containment and isolation technologies will provide the highest quality, best value products and enhance the Texas A&M CIADM initiatives to establish flexible manufacturing capabilities," said Dr. Gerald Parker, CIADM principal investigator.
The Texas A&M Center for Innovation is home to the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing (NCTM), which provides a flexible facility architecture for the development and production of vaccines and therapeutics for use in clinical trials. This adaptability is achieved using mobile clean rooms, which are small, self-contained laboratories configured for individual manufacturing processes. This technology represents a major breakthrough for the manufacture of drugs and therapeutics, as mobile clean rooms provide completely isolated and contained environments that enable multiple therapeutics to be manufactured simultaneously in a single facility. The addition of eight new mobile clean rooms to the NCTM will greatly enhance the facility and the development and manufacturing capacity of the CIADM.
The Walker Barrier Systems mobile clean room design will allow the NCTM to manufacture clinical grade materials at enhanced levels of compliance. Walker Barrier Systems units, constructed with Wabash National's DuraPlate® composite panel technology, are built to support a broad array of processes and platforms that will be required by CIADM to manufacture biosecurity medical countermeasures.
"While mobile, these clean rooms are approximately 48 feet long and 18 feet wide, providing full-scale manufacturing capabilities," said Dave Nick, vice president and general manager of Walker Group Engineered Products. "In addition, they are designed to be joined together to create larger suites to fit specific application requirements. The mobile clean rooms bring together Walker Barriers Systems' leading solutions in isolation and containment into a rapidly deployable and flexible manufacturing facility."
Construction of the mobile clean rooms began in May 2013, and all eight are expected to be in operation at the NCTM by early 2014. The first unit was delivered in January 2014.
Learn more about Walker Barrier Systems' mobile clean rooms at the International Pharmaceutical Expo (INTERPHEX) March 18–20, 2014, in New York City.
About Wabash National Corporation
Headquartered in Lafayette, Ind., Wabash National Corporation (NYSE:WNC) is a diversified industrial manufacturer and North America's leading producer of semi-trailers and liquid transportation systems. Established in 1985, the company specializes in the design and production of dry freight vans, refrigerated vans, platform trailers, liquid tank trailers, intermodal equipment, engineered products and composite products. Its innovative products are sold under the following brand names: Wabash National®, Transcraft®, Benson®, DuraPlate®, Walker Transport, Walker Defense Group, Walker Barrier Systems, Walker Engineered Products, Brenner® Tank, Beall®, Garsite, Progress Tank, TST®, Bulk Tank International and Extract Technology®. To learn more, visit www.wabashnational.com.
About the Texas A&M Center for Innovation
The Texas A&M Center for Innovation in Advance Development and Manufacturing (CIADM) is one of three centers established in June, 2012 by the US Department of Health and Human Services to enhance the nation's emergency preparedness against emerging infectious diseases, including pandemic influenza, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. The Center is founded on an initial $285.6 million investment, including a $176.6 million contribution from the US Department of Health and Human Services, with the remainder cost-shared by commercial and academic proposal partners. The Center will perform research and advanced development to accelerate vaccines and other medical products through pre-clinical and clinical development and produce these products in cases of pandemics or other national emergencies. Through these activities, the Center will address a recognized shortcoming in preparedness and response to known and unknown threats, and will improve our nation's ability to protect the health of its citizens in emergency situations.