Philips Plans to Make 15,000 of a New Ventilator Weekly in U.S.
Philips Plans to Make 15,000 of a New Ventilator Weekly in U.S.
(Bloomberg) -- Royal Philips NV is gearing up to produce 15,000 of a new, easy-to-use ventilator per week by the end of April, aiming to help ease a supply shortage in the U.S. and elsewhere caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Dutch company started production last week of the Respironics E30 at its New Kensington, Pennsylvania, site after gaining FDA approval for U.S. use of the machine during the COVID-19 public health emergency, it said Tuesday in a statement. Philips is working with the regulators to also distribute the device globally.
The E30 is optimized for patients suffering from Covid-19, Philips said, featuring simple operations that allow for use by healthcare workers with “a wide range of skill sets.” It will supplement two more-complex Philips ventilators also made in the U.S. that can’t be produced as quickly. The U.S. has become the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic, with the highest number of confirmed deaths.
In August, Philips will start delivering on a separate U.S. order for 10,000 portable ventilators, a spokesman said by phone.
Ventilator makers are struggling to address a surge in demand from hospitals worldwide, as the coronavirus outbreak swamped the availability of the devices in cities like New York.
The Dutch health-tech company under normal circumstances produces some 500 hospital ventilators per week, and production of models typically used in intensive care units can’t easily be ramped up.
Production volume is expected to be at 4,000 per week by the third quarter after Philips started partnerships with Flex Ltd. and Jabil Inc. to expand its ventilator assembly and strengthen its supply chain. It needs more than 650 components for the hospital ventilators it produces in its factories in the U.S., with more than half of the parts coming from Europe and Asia, it said.
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