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Construction finished on $126M vaccine plant in Montreal, but production still months away

The new facility could be used for potential COVID booster shots and the vaccines could also be exported around the world where they will still be needed

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OTTAWA – Construction on a $126-million vaccine plant in Montreal has been completed ahead of schedule and the government is now commissioning the plant, setting up the possibility COVID-19 shots will be manufactured there later this year.

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Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne made the announcement Tuesday that the National Research Council’s Biologics Manufacturing Centre had completed construction, but the facility is still months from making vaccines.

The equipment that will be used to make up to 24 million doses a year from the facility still has to be installed, commissioned and tested, and the facility will have to receive certification from Health Canada. Champagne said he is hopeful the first shots could roll-off production lines by December.

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“What we anticipate is that, subject to regulatory approval, the plant will be able to produce vaccines by the end of the year, and then obviously more towards mass production at the beginning of next year,” said Champagne.

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The government expects to have enough vaccine to inoculate Canadians by late July, but Champagne said the new facility could be used for potential booster shots and the vaccines could also be exported around the world where they will still be needed.

The plant is the larger of two facilities being built at the NRC’s Royalmount campus in Montreal and was one of the earliest investments the government made in vaccine manufacturing. The original plan for the facility was to have it manufacture the Chinese company CanSino’s vaccine. The Chinese government refused to ship samples to Canada for clinical trials and the government’s vaccine task force ultimately decided against buying the company’s vaccine. The Liberals signed a deal with Novavax after the CanSino arrangement collapsed.

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The second facility, which will have a much smaller capacity designed for clinical trials, ran into a variety of problems during construction and is not expected to be completed until 2022.

The government is now working with Novavax to transfer the necessary technology and expertise to make its vaccine. Novavax’s vaccine still doesn’t have Health Canada approval, which it will need before it can produce any doses.

In addition to the NRC facility, Champagne has announced funding for two private sector vaccine plants in recent months. Resilience Biotechnologies in Mississauga, Ont., received $200 million in taxpayer dollars for a facility that will be able to make mRNA vaccines, and Sanofi Pasteur received $470 million for a flu-vaccine facility in Toronto.

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Canada had almost no domestic manufacturing capabilities when the pandemic began and with the Montreal, Mississauga and Toronto facilities it now could have plants across the three major vaccine technologies.

Champagne said he wants to be prepared for future pandemics, which is why the government has spent so much on the plants. He said the NRC facility is an important part of the mix because it will be in public hands.

“At least we will have our own public facility, which is owned by Canadians, in order to ensure that resiliency.”

Industry groups have welcomed the government’s spend on new plants, but many are also pushing back against the government’s pricing reforms and weaker patent protection in Canada that they argue make it difficult for them to invest in Canada.

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The government is continuing with changes to the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, which the Liberals expect will lower the cost of drugs, but pharmaceutical firms have warned will lead to less investment and research in Canada.

Champagne said his immediate focus was the short-term investments to get vaccine manufacturing in Canada, but he said he is open to bigger discussions with industry about other barriers.

“Once we have done that, I’ve signalled to the industry that, yes, certainly will be open to engage in a constructive discussion,” he said. “They know where we stand when it comes to lowering the prices of drugs, but what I’ve demonstrated to them as well is that, in my view, the ecosystem in Canada is vibrant.”

Champagne said in his conversations with pharmaceutical CEOs they are still eager to invest here.

“It’s a very deliberate choice for them to be in Canada, and they were very pleased with the expertise and the talent and the ecosystem that we have.”

• Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com | Twitter:

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