Philips to Increase Ventilator Production to 4,000 Units/Week by Q3; Launches New Respironics E30 Ventilator

Royal Philips (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) has provided an update on its plans to double the production of its hospital ventilators by May 2020 and achieve a four-fold increase by the third quarter of 2020. The plan builds on Philips’ initial production increase in the first three months of the year, which already enabled the supply of additional ventilators – that are critical for the treatment of COVID-19 patients – to hospitals in the most affected regions in China, southern Europe and the US. Additionally, Philips has introduced its new Philips Respironics E30 non-invasive and invasive ventilator, which has been designed for large scale production.

Philips has engaged manufacturing solutions partners Flex and Jabil, as well as other partners, to further expand its hospital ventilator assembly lines and strengthen its supply chain. The assembly lines at Philips’ manufacturing site in Murrysville in western Pennsylvania, USA and at Flex focus on the production of the Philips Trilogy hospital ventilator for invasive and non-invasive ventilation, while the assembly lines at Philips’ site in California, USA and at Jabil focus on the production of the Philips Respironics V60 hospital ventilator for invasive and non-invasive ventilation. The combined hospital ventilator output is projected to increase to 4,000 units per week by the third quarter of 2020. To facilitate the production expansion across its three ventilator manufacturing sites in the US, Philips is investing several tens of millions in additional tools and molds, final assembly lines and test facilities. Moreover, the company is hiring extra manufacturing employees and changing to 24/7 shifts. Philips is working with its suppliers in the US, Europe and Asia to ensure a sufficient and uninterrupted supply of the 650+ different components that are needed for the assembly of its hospital ventilators.

Additionally, Philips has been working closely with leading respiratory physicians and medical device regulators in the US and other countries to develop a readily available ventilator that fills the critical hospital ventilation shortage. Philips has now launched its new Respironics E30 ventilator which is optimized to treat patients with respiratory insufficiency and is designed for large scale production This easy-to-use ventilator offers quick set-up and simple operations, allowing healthcare providers with a wide range of skill sets to treat and monitor patients. The Philips Respironics E30 can be used non-invasively, as well as invasively, offering the flexibility to adapt to the treatment needs of patients with COVID-19. Philips is now quickly scaling the production of the new Respironics E30 ventilator and is working with the relevant regulatory authorities to also distribute the device globally. The company has commenced production of the the Respironics E30 ventilator in its New Kensington site in western Pennsylvania, USA, and is targeting a production of 15,000 of these ventilators per week in April.

“In line with Philips’ mission, we are fully committed to helping as many healthcare providers as possible diagnose, treat and monitor the growing numbers of COVID-19 patients,” said Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips. “We have been mobilizing as a company to do so since January. The collaboration with our trusted partners Flex and Jabil will rapidly expand our hospital ventilator production capacity, and reinforce the supply chain to enable the ramp up to a production of 4,000 hospital ventilators per week by the third quarter. To complement this, our team has developed the new Philips Respironics E30 ventilator, which can be safely used when there is limited access to a fully featured critical care ventilator. The Philips Respironics E30 ventilator can deliver a range of treatment options, and we will quickly scale its production to 15,000 units per week in April.”

Related Links:
Royal Philips