Ellume COVID test plant in Frederick starting to add automation to manufacturing

Five months after the Australian-based biopharmaceutical company Ellume opened its first U.S. location in Frederick, the facility is scaling up its production of at-home COVID-19 tests by starting to automate the manufacturing process. U.S. Rep. David Trone and U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin visited the sprawling campus along Executive Way on Tuesday afternoon for a tour of the company’s production capabilities and a town hall meeting with its employees. They were joined by Laurie Locascio, director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST runs the Maryland Manufacturing Extension Partnership in Gaithersburg, which helps manufacturers in the state — like Ellume — operate more efficiently, grow and create more jobs.