Biomanufacturing: Projects underway

Entos Pharmaceuticals

• October 23, 2020: $5.0 million through NRC‑IRAP for phase 1 clinical trials of its Covigenix VAX-001 vaccine candidate

Related link:

• Prime Minister announces funding to advance the development of Canadian COVID-19 vaccine technologies

Providence Therapeutics and Northern RNA Inc.

• January 21, 2021: Up to $5 million through the Next Generation Manufacturing Canada supercluster, to expand their operations in Calgary to design and manufacture COVID-19 vaccines and build a pipeline of mRNA vaccines
• October 23, 2020: $4.9 million through NRC-IRAP for phase 1 clinical trials of its PTX-COVID19-B mRNA vaccine candidate

Related links:

• Canadian Supercluster Helping Manufacturers Build Strategic Supply to Support COVID Efforts
• Prime Minister announces funding to advance the development of Canadian COVID-19 vaccine technologies

BIOVECTRA

• November 18, 2021: $39.8 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to build a state-of-the-art facility in Prince Edward Island and reconfigure their facilities in Nova Scotia.

IMV Inc.

• October 23, 2020: $5.4 million through NRC-IRAP for phase 2/3 clinical trials of its DPX-COVID19 vaccine candidate
• August 5, 2020: $2.5 million through the Next Generation Manufacturing Canada supercluster to advance clinical development of its vaccine candidate for the prevention of COVID-19 infection.
• July 22, 2020: $1 million from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to support the pre-clinical activities necessary to meet the requirements for a clinical trial application to Health Canada

Related links:

• Government of Canada announces major steps in treating and preventing COVID-19 through vaccines and therapies
• Prime Minister announces funding to advance the development of Canadian COVID-19 vaccine technologies

AbCellera Biologics

• May 3, 2020: $175.6 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) toward its antibody therapy research and the construction of an antibody production facility

Related links:

• Minister Bains announces investment in antibody discovery technology to help treat COVID-19
• Prime Minister announces new support for COVID-19 medical research and vaccine development

adMare BioInnovations

• March 30, 2022: Up to $92 million provided in the 2021 Federal Budget to prepare Canada for future pandemics and health emergencies by supporting research and development (R&D), company creation, scale-up, and training activities in the biomanufacturing and life sciences sector.

Bold Therapeutics

• December 18, 2020: Up to $289,032 through NRC-IRAP for a project to prepare preclinical efficacy data in live SARS-CoV-2 (COVID‑19) and support preparation for clinical trials and manufacturing of its BOLD-100 investigational therapy to treat patients with viral infections, including COVID‑19

Related link:

• National Research Council of Canada supports development of 4 COVID‑19 therapeutic candidates

Precision NanoSystems Inc.

• February 2, 2021: $25.1 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to support a $50.2 million project to expand Canada's capabilities in the production of ribonucleic acid (RNA) vaccines and future genetic medicines, while enhancing Canada's biomanufacturing capacity
• October 23, 2020: Up to $18.2 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to help advance the development of a COVID‑19 vaccine candidate through preclinical studies and clinical trials

Related links:

• New support to produce COVID-19 vaccines and treatments in Canada
• Prime Minister announces funding to advance the development of Canadian COVID‑19 vaccine technologies

Symvivo

• October 23, 2020: $2.8 million through NRC‑IRAP to advance its bacTRL-Spike oral DNA vaccine candidate in preclinical and phase 1 clinical trials

Qu Biologics

• December 18, 2020: Up to $109,764 through NRC‑IRAP for a project to provide proof-of-concept evidence for the safety and efficacy of a preventive treatment, as well as therapeutic use of a treatment, to protect the lungs and prevent serious COVID-19 infection

Related links:

• National Research Council of Canada supports development of 4 COVID-19 therapeutic candidates

Arch Biopartners

• December 15, 2020: Up to $6.7 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to advance its lead drug candidate as a treatment for organ inflammation in severe cases of COVID-19

Related link:

• Government of Canada invests in promising treatment that could fight COVID-19

Edesa Biotech

• February 2, 2021: Up to $14 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) which is developing a monoclonal antibody therapy (EB05) as a treatment for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, the leading cause of death among COVID‑19 patients

Related link:

• New support to produce COVID‑19 vaccines and treatments in Canada

Hypermabs Inc.

• December 18, 2020: Up to $1.9 million through NRC‑IRAP to support the development of their FB100 therapeutic, a novel treatment for COVID-19 survivors with lung fibrosis

Mannin Research Inc.

• December 18, 2020: Up to $1.7 million through NRC‑IRAP to support the development of methodology for purification and pre-clinical testing of a therapeutic to prevent vascular leakage in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Novocol Pharmaceutical of Canada

• March 16, 2021: Up to $32.7 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to expand their biomanufacturing facilities in Cambridge, Ontario

Related links

• Major investments in domestic firms to rebuild Canada's biomanufacturing sector

Resilience Biotechnologies Inc. (RBI) 

• May 18, 2021: Up to $199.16 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to increase its manufacturing and fill-finish capacity for a number of vaccines and therapeutics, including for those that use novel technology such as mRNA and that are now being deployed to fight COVID-19.

Related links

• Government of Canada continues to strengthen Canada's biomanufacturing sector

Sanofi

• March 31, 2021: Up to $415 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to support building an end-to-end influenza vaccine manufacturing facility.

Related link:

• The Government of Canada makes historic investment to strengthen Canada's biomanufacturing sector

Stem Cell Network

• May 12, 2022: Over $19.5 million through the Stem Cell Network for 32 research projects and clinical trials across Canada focused on rare and chronic diseases. This funding is part of the $45 million federal investment over three years for the Stem Cell Network to support stem cell and regenerative medicine research.
• April 23, 2020: Over $675,000 through the Stem Cell Network to support two new research projects and one clinical trial. The clinical trial will evaluate the safety of a potential cell therapy to reduce the impacts and severity of acute respiratory distress associated with COVID‑19, and the two projects will generate critical information about how cells in the airway and brain are affected by the virus

Related link:

• Prime Minister announces new support for COVID‑19 medical research and vaccine development

Variation Biotechnologies Inc. (VBI)

• August 5, 2020: Up to $56 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to support clinical trials for a COVID-related vaccine candidate

Related link:

• Government of Canada announces major steps in treating and preventing COVID‑19 through vaccines and therapies

Vasomune Therapeutics Inc.

• December 18, 2020: Up to $1.2 million through NRC‑IRAP to support phase 1 clinical trials of its AV-001 drug candidate which will be used to treat patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome resulting from COVID‑19.

Biodextris Inc.

• October 23, 2020: $1.3 million through NRC‑IRAP for preclinical development of its nasal COVID‑19 vaccine candidate

Related link:

• Prime Minister announces funding to advance the development of Canadian COVID‑19 vaccine technologies

Glycovax Pharma

• October 23, 2020: $4.0 million through NRC‑IRAP for phase 1 clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Related link:

• Prime Minister announces funding to advance the development of Canadian COVID‑19 vaccine technologies

Immune Biosolutions

• March 16, 2021: Up to $13.44 million to help through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to develop and advance its therapeutic candidate from pre-clinical studies up to Phase II clinical trials

Related link:

• Major investments in domestic firms to rebuild Canada's biomanufacturing sector

JN Nova Pharma

• December 18, 2020: Up to $4,609,000 through NRC‑IRAP to assist in the development of a proprietary drug to block coronavirus infection, while reducing the impacts of the disease in patients exhibiting COVID‑19 symptoms so they may recover faster

Related link:

• National Research Council of Canada supports development of 4 COVID‑19 therapeutic candidates

KABS Laboratories Inc.

• March 16, 2021: Up to $54.2 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), for the expansion of its Saint‑Hubert facility and establishing a new facility in Val-des-Sources, both in Quebec

Related link:

• Major investments in domestic firms to rebuild Canada's biomanufacturing sector

Laurent Pharmaceuticals

• December 18, 2020: Up to $4,166,796 through NRC-IRAP for the clinical development of its LAU-7b antiviral and inflammation controlling therapy for COVID-19 infections

Related link:

• National Research Council of Canada supports development of 4 COVID‑19 therapeutic candidates

Medicago

• October 23, 2020: Up to $173 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to advance its virus-like particle vaccine candidate and establish a large-scale biomanufacturing facility

Related link:

• Prime Minister announces funding to advance the development of Canadian COVID-19 vaccine technologies

Moderna

• April 29, 2022: Leading COVID-19 vaccine developer Moderna will build and operate a state-of-the-art mRNA vaccine production facility in Quebec. Once completed in 2025, the facility will have the capacity to produce up to 100 million mRNA vaccine doses per year.

Novavax

• February 2, 2021: Signing a memorandum of understanding with Novavax to pursue production of its COVID‑19 vaccine at the NRC's Biologics Manufacturing Centre, once both the vaccine candidate and the facility receive the required Health Canada approvals

Related link:

• New support to produce COVID-19 vaccines and treatments in Canada

NRC Royalmount (BMC)

• August 31, 2020: $126 million to build a new Biologics Manufacturing Centre at its Royalmount site in Montréal. Once built, the new centre will be capable of large-quantity, end-to-end production of vaccines—approximately 2 million doses per month, depending on the vaccine candidate

NRC Royalmount - Clinical Trial Material Facility (CTMF)

• $44 million to establish a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliant clinical trial material facility at its Royalmount site in Montréal. Once complete, this permanent facility will be able to produce small-batch clinical trial materials from cell-based biologics production, including platforms such as viral vector, protein subunit, virus-like particles and other recombinant proteins

Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO)

• April 23, 2021: $59.2 million, through Western Economic Diversification Canada to support the development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidates and expand its facility in Saskatoon.
• December 11, 2020: $35 million, through Western Economic Diversification Canada to accelerate development of its COVID‑19 vaccine candidate and enhance its vaccine manufacturing facilities to the good manufacturing practices standards required for human vaccines
• November 6, 2020: $300,000 through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) for new imaging equipment to help understand COVID-19 infection
• March 6, 2020: $1 million through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research federal rapid research funding initiative for research projects aimed at addressing COVID-19
• March 1, 2020: $11 million through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) in operation funding

Related links:

• VIDO on track to become 'Canada's centre for pandemic research'
• Prime Minister announces additional funding to support COVID-19 research
• Government of Canada invests in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization – Canada.ca