Bedlam Vodka, MedPharm and Avazyme Team Up to Provide Quality-Assured Hand Sanitizer to North Carolina Healthcare Providers

Three local companies have combined their collective resources and expertise to produce and provide hand sanitizer to WakeMed Health & Hospitals to help fight the COVID-19 outbreak

DURHAM, NC / ACCESSWIRE / March 30, 2020 / In an effort to provide essential resources to local hospitals in need and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Bedlam Vodka, an award-winning craft vodka distilled and bottled by Graybeard Distillery, MedPharm, the world's leading contract provider of topical and transdermal product design and formulation development services to the pharmaceutical industry and Avazyme, a customized testing solution provider have combined forces to scientifically create, test and distribute quality-assured hand sanitizer.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put enormous pressure on traditional supply channels, leaving many medical institutions supporting the critical needs of vulnerable people and patients in short supply of hand sanitizer.

As news arose of local distilleries shifting their focus of producing ethanol for consumption to sanitizer, Bedlam Vodka was quickly inundated with requests from healthcare providers and institutions to assist. Knowing the importance of providing a medically safe solution, Bedlam looped in MedPharm and Avazyme to work together. The sanitizer will be supplied to WakeMed, a leading N.C.-based healthcare provider, for use in their hospitals and numerous outpatient units in the local area.

"The collective fabric of our community is stepping up in new ways to meet these challenges, and for that we are grateful and humbled," said Deb Laughery, vice president of Marketing & Communications for WakeMed. "These collaborative efforts allow us to care for those who need us and protect the safety and well-being of our patients and staff. Let's continue to align resources, talent and compassion as we all respond to this public health crisis."

In Durham, N.C., MedPharm has combined their formulation development expertise with Bedlam Vodka, who is supplying the ethanol and their distillery for manufacturing the product. Agricultural and food testing experts Avazyme are providing the analysis required to ensure the product is quality assured and meets the guidelines for hand sanitizer to be used as a disinfectant.

"We are fortunate to have 20 years of formulation and manufacturing expertise, and the resources to be able to do what we can across both of our facilities in Durham, N.C. and Guildford, UK," said MedPharm's President and CEO, Eugene Ciolfi. "It is clear that key small local institutions desperately need the product now and we are proud to be able to support our local communities in any way we can at this time."

"Our regulatory science team here at the Avazyme laboratory is proud to join forces with local companies MedPharm and Bedlam Vodka to quickly support our medical care providers in the fight against COVID-19." said Volker Bornemann, President and CEO of Avazyme.

Bedlam Vodka is shifting a portion of their ethanol production facility to accommodate the substantial volume of alcohol needed for hospitals.

"Our collaborative venture means we will be able to produce large quantities of sanitizer to support the needs of healthcare workers at this time," added Brandon Evans, CEO of Graybeard Distillery, distillers of Bedlam Vodka. "Our group has also been approached by other hospital systems to provide the scarce sanitizers, and we are doing everything in our power to help as many of our vital medical providers as possible."

COMPANY INFORMATION

About MedPharm

MedPharm is the world's leading contract provider of topical and transdermal product design and formulation development services to the pharmaceutical industry. MedPharm, which was established over 20 years ago, employs over 150 people in Durham, North Carolina and Guildford, UK. MedPharm is expert at reducing risk and accelerating development times for generic and proprietary pharmaceutical customers through their unique, cost-effective and industry-leading performance testing models.

For more information please visit www.medpharm.com

About Avazyme, Inc.

Avazyme, Inc. is a privately owned customized testing solution provider, offering laboratory testing, product development, and expert consulting services to agriculture and the entire food value chain, from farm to fork and from farm to pharmacy. Avazyme provides fast, accurate and reliable answers to ensure product safety and high product quality for food, feed, cosmetics, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical products and regulatory compliance. Our services range from analytical chemistry and state-of-the-art mass spectrometry to specialty natural products testing, nutritional analysis, stability and batch release testing, microbiology, molecular biology and immunochemistry testing.

For more information please visit www.avazyme.com

About Graybeard Distillery

Graybeard Distillery, purveyors of Bedlam vodka, is located in Durham, NC. Bedlam Vodka is a highly awarded, handcrafted, grain to glass vodka made from 100% long grain white rice sourced from Arkansas and Louisiana. The high quality long grain white rice base yields a uniquely smooth flavor profile with a distinct nose, complexity, feel and finish. Our mission is to provide a unique spirit to be enjoyed around the world by people who love life and live rebelliously.

For more information please visit www.bedlamvodka.com

Media Contact: Megan Cuellar
Email: mcuellar@interdependence.com
Phone: (949) 777-2468

SOURCE: Graybeard Distillery

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