[OTTAWA, ON] March 31, 2021 – Today’s joint announcement of investment in expanding Sanofi’s capacity to manufacture vaccines and conduct research and development is a significant development for the Canadian life sciences ecosystem and Canada more broadly as it looks to prepare for future health crises and rebuild the economy following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sanofi, in partnership with the Governments of Canada, Ontario, and the City of Toronto, will together invest nearly one billion dollars building on Sanofi’s existing Toronto facility to enhance Canada’s influenza pandemic preparedness and vaccine manufacturing capacity. The additional investment by Sanofi of $79M per year to fund Canadian research and development is an important investment for the Canadian ecosystem which will augment Canada’s ability to create and grow biotech companies at a point where the world is seeking to establish long-term capacity to address current priorities and prepare for future global needs. All told, the additional manufacturing capacity and its corresponding jobs as well as the research and development investment resulting from today’s announcement will not only support Canada’s ability to prepare for future pandemics but will also help accelerate the economic recovery following the COVID-19 crisis.
Sanofi has played a national leadership role in Canada for generations and as a result Canada is fortunate to have such a world-class facility in Toronto upon which to build through this announced investment. In 2018, Sanofi made a significant $500 million investment in the Toronto facility to establish one of the most advanced vaccine bulk manufacturing facilities in the world. At the time, this was the largest investment ever made by Sanofi globally into a single facility. These investments combined demonstrate a significant commitment by Sanofi to Canada and the important role Canada can play globally in addressing healthcare challenges. With this sort of global recognition of Canadian expertise and capacity, with governments as partners, the value of the entire ecosystem grows. Canadian biotechnology expertise is seen to be providing the foundation for the pandemic recovery and sets the path for the long-term economic recovery Canada is seeking to establish.
For more information:
Nadine.lunt@biotech.ca
BIOTECanada is the national industry association with over 200 members located nation wide, reflecting the diverse nature of Canada’s health, industrial and agricultural biotechnology sectors. In addition to providing significant health benefits for Canadians, the biotechnology industry has quickly become an essential part of the transformation of many traditional cornerstones of the Canadian economy including manufacturing, automotive, energy, aerospace and forestry industries.