Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau and François Legault on Friday announced the construction, by the American pharmaceutical company Moderna, of a vaccine manufacturing plant in the Montreal region.
The new pharmaceutical facilities will include a research center and a production plant for messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines that will allow the production of 100 million doses annually in Quebec, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced.
This, in addition to creating hundreds of new jobs, will allow Canada to significantly strengthen its biomanufacturing capabilities, Mr Trudeau said.
It will also be the first Moderna plant outside the United States. Its construction should be completed in 2024.
Negotiations are still ongoing regarding the exact location of the facilities, which represent an investment of $ 180 million, according to Quebec Premier François Legault.
Moderna’s arrival was very strategic for Quebec. […] It will seriously strengthen Quebec’s ecosystem of life sciences […] We are talking about a sector that already includes more than 700 companies and more than 36,000 high-quality jobs, not counting research centersFrançois Legault was welcomed.
Hundreds of millions in research and development
Coming to Canada from Moderna was not limited to making vaccines. In addition to producing messenger RNA vaccines here in Canada, Moderna will also invest in research and development and conduct clinical trials here in -house.explained the federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, who played an important role in the arrival of pharmacists in Quebec.
” The entire ecosystem will directly benefit from this investment of several hundred million dollars. We are talking about a major investment in research and development. “
Excited at the reception he received in Canada and Quebec, Moderna’s president, Stéphane Bancel, spoke about a ten-year partnership agreement with Canada. He also recalled that Ottawa was one of the first governments in the world to financially support the development and production efforts of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by his company in the midst of a pandemic.
” This is a great project in a beautiful country. “
A giant in labor
Moderna, founded in 2010 in the United States, rose to worldwide fame during the pandemic after developing Spikevax, an effective messenger RNA vaccine against COVID-19.
The company is currently the second largest producer of messenger RNA vaccines against COVID-19.
Using this technology, the company also makes drugs with good potential to fight other infectious diseases such as HIV, Zika, respiratory syncytial syndrome and Epstein-Barr virus (mononucleosis).
Rebuilding Canada’s Biomanufacturing Capabilities
Faced with major shortcomings in its domestic vaccine production, Canada had to contend with the height of the pandemic to immediately procure vaccine supplies from Europe after the United States decided to reserve all of their vaccine production for exclusive treatment. their population.
Once a world power in the field of biomanufacturing, Canada found itself completely dependent on the manufacture of vaccines from other countries during the pandemic.
The Trudeau government, which has promised to rebuild the country’s bioproduction capacities, notably allocated $ 2.2 billion in April 2021 for it, in addition to multiplying agreements with Axelera, BioVectra, Resilience, Novavax and Sanofi.
We not only ensure the health and safety of Canadians today, but for decades to comeassured the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne.
Source: Radio-Canada
