Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a tentative deal to produce COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.
Trudeau said, “This is a major step forward to get vaccines made in Canada, for Canadians.”
Novavax applied Friday for regulatory approval for its vaccine candidate in Canada and is building a facility in Montreal.
Trudeau says Canada has a contract to buy 52 million doses from Novavax.
In addition, Trudeau says Precision Nanosystems in Vancouver will also be building a production facility capable of producing 240 million vaccine doses yearly.
Currently Canada relies on Europe for its COVID-19 vaccine supply.
The PM says Canada’s plan is still to have most Canadians vaccinated by the end of September.
The investments announced by the Prime Minister include:
- Up to $25.1 million to Precision NanoSystems Incorporated (PNI), a Vancouver-based biotechnology company, to expand our ability to produce ribonucleic acid vaccines and future genetic medicines in Canada. PNI will build a $50.2 million biomanufacturing centre to produce vaccines and therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of diseases such as infectious diseases, rare diseases, cancer and other areas of unmet need.
- Up to $14 million to Edesa Biotech Inc. (Edesa), a biopharmaceutical company based in Markham, Ontario, to advance work on a monoclonal antibody therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is the leading cause of COVID-19 deaths. Edesa’s $18.7 million project has received Health Canada approval to conduct its phase 2 clinical trials, and has begun administering its treatment to clinical trial participants in Canada.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, our top priority has been the health and safety of all Canadians. Today, we are investing in our biomanufacturing capacity so that we have the made-in-Canada vaccines and treatments we need to protect Canadians, now and in the future, and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.”
- The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
To read the full announcement, please click here.
I’m announcing new support to produce vaccines and treatments here at home, and I’m giving an update on the latest COVID-19 developments across the country. Tune in now for the details: https://t.co/VCzchUk24b
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 2, 2021
Update: We’ve signed a memorandum of understanding with Novavax to produce vaccines here at home. Pending approval from @GovCanHealth, tens of millions of doses of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine will be made at the @NRC_CNRC’s new Royalmount facility in Montreal.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 2, 2021
Today's announcement:
🧫MOU with Novavax to produce its COVID-19 vaccine in Montréal.
💉Up to $25.1 million to PNI to expand our ability to produce mRNA vaccines
🧬Up to $14 million to Edesa Biotech to support their treatment for respiratory distress pic.twitter.com/zYvNWd7rz9— François-Philippe Champagne (FPC) 🇨🇦 (@FP_Champagne) February 2, 2021