| As Canada seeks to rebuild its biomanufacturing sector and support made-in-Canada solutions to global health challenges, The Ottawa Hospital, the University of Alberta and BioCanRx have collaborated to create Canada’s first full-service, end-to-end biomanufacturing solution for academic and industrial clients.
The three organizations have signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance collaboration between: • The Ottawa Hospital’s Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre (BMC), which has a 15-year track record of biomanufacturing and is home to Canada’s only hands-on biomanufacturing training program; The partners are already collaborating to manufacture many therapies and vaccines, including: • Potentially curative gene therapy for lipoprotein lipase deficiency, an inherited disorder that is more common in Québec; “Canada has some of the best scientific minds in the world working to develop new therapies and vaccines, but they have been limited by our lack of domestic biomanufacturing capacity,” said Dr. Duncan Stewart, Executive Vice-President of Research at The Ottawa Hospital and a professor at the University of Ottawa. “This new partnership, which combines areas of strength across the country, will greatly enhance Canada’s ability to produce life-saving medical treatments and vaccines.” “For Canada to play a key role in new breakthrough therapies and vaccines, we must invest in multiple facilities across the country, and foster collaboration,” said Dr. Greg Korbutt, Scientific Director of ACTM and Professor of Surgery at the University of Alberta. “This agreement sets the stage for that, a Canadian biomanufacturing ecosystem.” “This partnership will not only scale up our domestic biomanufacturing capacity but include hands-on GMP training to meet the astounding demand for biomanufacturing personnel,” said Dr. Stéphanie Michaud, President and CEO of BioCanRx. “More importantly, it serves to support our ‘made-in-Canada approach focused on expanding access to clinical trials for potentially life-saving cancer treatments, right here, in Canada.” “Canada has deep biopharma research experience, so it’s great to see expansion in the biomanufacturing sector. Hopefully, Canada continues to invest in initiatives such as this,” said Entos CEO John Lewis. “Accessing the facilities and expertise at ACTM and The Ottawa Hospital has significantly helped propel our COVID-19 vaccine candidate into clinical trials.” |
