City firm on tap to be vaccine producer
Winnipeg operation would perform final mixing, packaging
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/04/2021 (1924 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
OTTAWA — The federal industry minister says Ottawa has not turned its back on contributing to the expansion of a Winnipeg biomedical firm that hopes to produce COVID-19 vaccines.
“We’re very interested in improving our capacity,” François-Philippe Champagne said Friday.
Emergent BioSolutions, a U.S. company, runs a facility near the University of Manitoba campus. It signed a contract late last year to produce a vaccine developed by Calgary-based Providence Therapeutics, which is pending approval. Providence has financial support from the Pallister government.
The deal would involve the Winnipeg production centre conducting the final mixing of chemicals and inserting them into vials, what’s known as “fill and finish.”
Last month, the Globe and Mail quoted Champagne as saying the federal government wants to support the plant’s expansion, so Canada can shore up its ability to manufacture vaccines.
“We’re expanding their facility with them,” Champagne said in March. His office backtracked hours after the comment was published.
“Our government is exploring all options to increase domestic capacity,” Champagne’s spokesman wrote.
On Friday, when asked where things stand, Champagne said he did not have a recent update, but said Ottawa is still in talks with Emergent.
“The beefing up of our fill-and-finish capacity across the country is much needed,” he said, adding that drug companies expect a country to be able to produce 150 million doses a year before investing, while Canada has capacity for about 30 to 35 million doses.
Last week’s federal budget did not reference Emergent, while promising $60 million for a Saskatoon vaccine developer.
“This is about how can we rebuild the whole ecosystem,” said Champagne, arguing Canada needs to be able to create vaccines and have capacity to manufacture them.
“Not only could we serve our domestic market, but also be a powerhouse when it comes to life sciences, and help export to other countries,” he said.
Champagne’s office has said federal support for any vaccine production, including at the Winnipeg facility, could only involve shots approved by Health Canada.
dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca