BioMedInnovations and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Enter Cooperative Research and Development Agreement

BioMedInnovations announced a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, to support the rapid development of an emergency ventilator in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The collaboration brought together LLNL scientists and engineers with BioMedInnovations’ experience in precision air and fluid-flow technologies. The goal was to develop a durable, portable mechanical ventilator that could be manufactured using readily available components without placing additional strain on the supply chains used by established ventilator manufacturers. 

The agreement was established on an accelerated timeline as concerns grew about potential ventilator shortages during the pandemic. Federal Laboratory Consortium documentation indicates that the CRADA was executed on May 6, 2020, following an earlier nondisclosure agreement among LLNL, BioMedInnovations, and pressure-control technology partner Equilibar. 

Under the collaboration, the teams continued the development, testing, and preparation for manufacturing of the emergency ventilator that would become SuppleVent™. The project combined LLNL’s engineering and research capabilities with BioMedInnovations’ medical-device development and fluid-control expertise. 

Just over a month after execution of the CRADA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added the BioMedInnovations SuppleVent ventilator to its Emergency Use Authorization on June 8, 2020, permitting its use for adult patients requiring mechanical ventilation under specified emergency conditions.