Question Period Note: BIOMANUFACTURING AND LIFE SCIENCES IN CANADA

What steps is the Government of Canada taking to manufacture vaccines and therapies domestically?

• The Government of Canada’s number one priority is protecting the health of Canadians.

• The government is working to position Canada to develop and produce safe and effective vaccines and therapies that respond to COVID 19, future pandemics and other health priorities.

• In July 2021, the government announced the Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy to improve Canada's long-term pandemic resilience and promote the life-sciences sector.

• Budget 2021 provides $2.2 billion over seven years towards growing a vibrant domestic biomanufacturing and life sciences sector.

• These investments will help build Canada’s talent pipeline and research systems, and support the growth of Canadian life sciences firms.

• Investments in biomanufacturing capacity can reduce our reliance on imported products and strengthen our domestic industrial capacity.

• The Government will work with provinces, territories, and other partners to deliver real results for Canadians.
• Since the onset of the pandemic, the government has made significant investments of more than $1.2 billion to advance industrial research and development in vaccines and therapeutics, as well as to expand biomanufacturing capacity in Canada.

• The strategy will guide investments supported through funds allocated in Budget 2021 for the revitalization of Canada's biomanufacturing and life science sector.

BUDGET 2021 FUNDING BREAKDOWN

• Budget 2021 provides investments to help build Canada’s talent pipeline and research systems, and support the growth of Canadian life sciences firms, including:
o $500 million over four years, starting in 2021-22, for the Canada Foundation for Innovation to support the bio-science capital and infrastructure needs of post-secondary institutions and research hospitals.
o $250 million over four years, starting in 2021-22, for the federal research granting councils to create the new Canada Biomedical Research Fund, launched on October 5, 2021.

o $92 million over four years, starting in 2021-22, for adMare to support company creation, scale up, and training activities in the life sciences sector.
o $59.2 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, for the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization to support the development of its vaccine candidates and expand its facility in Saskatoon.
o $45 million over three years, starting in 2022-23, to the Stem Cell Network to support stem cell and regenerative medicine research.
• $1 billion over seven years, starting in 2021-22, of support through the Strategic Innovation Fund targeted toward promising domestic life sciences and bio-manufacturing firms.
• $250 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to increase clinical research capacity through a new Canadian Institutes of Health Research Clinical Trials Fund.
• $50 million over five years, starting in 2021-22, to create a life sciences stream in the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, as part of a larger venture capital investment proposed.

New Canadian biomanufacturing capacity since 2020
The government has announced a number of investments to bolster domestic production capacity through the Strategic Innovation Fund, Next Generation Manufacturing Canada Supercluster, the National Research Council, Regional Development Agencies, and other government partners, including in:

• the National Research Council (NRC) (Montréal, QC) - $126 million to establish the new Biologics Manufacturing Centre;
• Medicago (Quebec City, QC) - $173 million to develop a plant-based virus-like-particle vaccine and for the construction of a Good Manufacturing Practice facility, alongside an APA for eventual delivery of its vaccines;
• AbCellera (Vancouver, BC) - $175.6 million in government support of antibody discovery for clinical testing and for the construction of a GMP antibody production facility;
• Precision Nanosystems (Vancouver, BC) - $25.1 million in government support to build a biomanufacturing centre for production of RNA vaccines;
• KABS Laboratories (St-Hubert and Val des Sources, QC) - $54.25 million toward a biologics production facility with a focus on antibody therapies and new fill-finish capabilities;
• Novocol (Cambridge, ON) - $32.7 million contribution toward expanded fill-finish capacity;
• Providence Therapeutics and Northern RNA Inc. - $5 million through the Next Generation Manufacturing Supercluster to expand their operations in Calgary to design and manufacture COVID-19 vaccines and build a pipeline of mRNA vaccines;
• Sanofi Pasteur (Toronto campus) – up to $415 million support towards building an end-to-end influenza vaccine manufacturing facility; and,
• Resilience Biotechnologies (Mississauga, ON) - $199 million to increase manufacturing and fill/finish capacity for a number of vaccines and therapeutics including mRNA technologies.

Canadian COVID-19 vaccine development
The NRC has provided more than $70 million in funding and advisory support for vaccines and therapies through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to support research and development of seven vaccine candidates and seven therapeutics candidates for COVID-19.