The federal and Ontario governments on Wednesday are expected to announce significant funding to help boost Canada’s future vaccine manufacturing capacity, the Star has learned.
Sanofi SA, a multinational French pharmaceutical company with a manufacturing location in North York, will receive funding from both levels of government toward a nearly $1-billion production and distribution facility that will substantially boost its current vaccine production capacity, a source close to the matter told the Star.
The funding will help Sanofi build a new facility that will expand its influenza vaccine production capacity, while giving it the tools to fill-and-finish other vaccines on a mass scale.
The project, expected to be completed in 2027, will enable Sanofi to produce enough influenza vaccine for the entire population of Canada in six months. It will also enable Sanofi to implement fill-and-finish capacity that could be used to create vaccines for coronaviruses and other diseases in the future.
The federal government will contribute several hundred million dollars, sources said, while Ontario will pitch in an amount less than $100 million. The city of Toronto is also aiding Sanofi with its project and the company will pay for the remaining costs.
Among those expected at the funding announcement on Wednesday morning at the Sanofi location are federal Minister of Innovation Francois Philippe Champagne, federal Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor John Tory.
Canada’s current vaccine manufacturing capacity has been criticized during the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the main reasons for its slow vaccine rollout compared to countries like the United States and the U.K.
As of Tuesday, only 12 per cent of Canadians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. has vaccinated 29 per cent of its population and the U.K. has vaccinated 46 per cent. Both the U.S. and the U.K. are able to mass produce vaccines.
Sanofi’s current 54-acre Canadian facility has been operational since 1914, according to the company’s website. It has largely focused on developing vaccines to combat diseases like tetanus and diphtheria.
Influenza vaccines will be the primary product of the new facility, given the frequency of influenza epidemics over the course of history, with scientists predicting a new one every 30 to 35 years.
The last significant influenza epidemic was the global H1N1 outbreak in 2009, which hospitalized 15,000 Canadians at the time