San Diego-based medical device manufacturer Resmed is one of six companies across the country that will receive priority access to components needed to produce ventilators for critically ill coronavirus patients.
The executive order issued by President Trump on Thursday under the the Defense Production Act comes amid shortages of ventilators and other medical supplies at hospitals across the country.
Trump said the action would “remove obstacles in the supply chain” and help the manufacturers “secure the supplies they need to build ventilators needed to save American lives. I am grateful to these and other domestic manufacturers for ramping up their production of ventilators during this difficult time.”
Other companies referenced in the order were General Electric, Hill-Rom, Medtronic, Royal Phillips and Vyaire Medical.
“ResMed is pleased to see the White House prioritize access to critical ventilator components, enabling not only ResMed but all industry-leading ventilator manufacturers to speed up both production and delivery of lifesaving devices to patients who need them most,” the company said in a statement. “Again, we encourage automakers, aerospace equipment producers, and other non-ventilation manufacturers to help us source or create more of these components, strengthening the supply chain that all ventilator makers are drawing from to help meet this rising global demand and save lives.”
ResMed announced plans last week to exponentially increase its production of ventilators amid the pandemic, with ResMed CEO Mick Farrell saying, “We are looking to double or triple the output of ventilators, and scale up ventilation mask production more than tenfold.”
Updated at 1:45 p.m., Friday, April 3, 2020
— From Staff and Wire Reports