Richmond, Virginia, May 14, 2025 — Phlow Corp., a leading pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) in America, announced the completion of a successful full-scale demonstration batch of Succinylcholine Chloride at its Metric Ton Facility. This achievement marks a significant advancement in Phlow’s continued progress toward re-establishing domestic manufacturing of vulnerable essential medicines using state-of-the-art chemistry and innovative synthesis routes at a large scale.
Succinylcholine Chloride is a skeletal muscle relaxant. It relaxes muscles during surgery or while on a breathing machine. Despite its critical role as an essential medicine, it is currently in shortage and has been prone to shortages over the last decade[i]. By demonstrating our ability to produce this medication at scale with materials sourced domestically or from European suppliers, Phlow is one step closer to directly addressing a longstanding supply chain vulnerability and will reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign sources for this critical medicine.
“The ability to produce critical essential medications for the U.S. Government domestically, without relying on starting materials from potentially adversarial nations, ensures timely access during emergencies, which is crucial for saving lives and improving health outcomes across our nation,” said Eric Edwards, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Phlow. “As we continue our bold and relentless work, we remain committed to the highest quality and safety standards in every step of the process. This is how we are creating the future of how medicines are made.”
Phlow’s Metric Ton-Scale cGMP Facility—designed to produce up to 60 metric tons of small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) annually—is located in Petersburg, Virginia. The state-of-the-art facility features advanced continuous and batch manufacturing capabilities, multiple production lines, and dedicated drying suites to meet the rigorous demands of modern pharmaceutical production.
In addition, Phlow has secured a commitment from a leading U.S.-based nonprofit generic drug company to qualify Succinylcholine Chloride into its finished drug product—a key step toward achieving commercial readiness and ensuring sustained access to this medicine for hospitals and health systems nationwide. This milestone reinforces Phlow’s role as America’s modern medicine manufacturer, delivering scalable CDMO services that accelerate R&D for APIs and Key Starting Materials—all within one time zone, made in America, and backed by a commitment to unmatched quality, speed, and public service.
About Phlow Corp.
Phlow, a B Corporation™, helps brilliant minds bring medicines to life through advanced development and manufacturing in America. Focused on innovations in drug substance development, Phlow supports government and private industry customers to create innovative approaches with scientific expertise, world-class manufacturing, and tech-enabled processes that propel the industry forward to a new standard as we create the future of how medicines are made. As a modern contract development and manufacturing provider, we measure our impact by increasing speed to market, reducing waste, and offering an environmentally friendly approach to manufacturing medicines that lead to healthy, resilient communities. For more, visit phlow-usa.com.
[i] American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. (n.d.). Drug shortage detail. Retrieved April 28, 2025, from ASHP.