The provincial government has secured an investment that will see a major pharmaceutical company expand vaccine manufacturing in Ontario.
The province says it will provide $4 million through the Ontario Together Fund to support a partnership between Moderna Inc and Novocol Pharma. The investment will see Novocol expand its Cambridge facility to prepare and package respiratory mRNA vaccines for distribution in Ontario and throughout Canada.
“Moderna’s new investment is a huge vote of confidence in our province, our workers, and our growing life sciences sector,” said Premier Doug Ford in a news release.
The move will provide Ontarians with faster, more reliable access to life-saving vaccines, and help the province become more self-sufficient in case of future health emergencies.
“By building homegrown capacity to produce life-saving vaccines, Ontario will no longer need to rely on other countries to keep our communities safe,” said Sylvia Jones, deputy premier and minister of health.
According to the provincial government, over the past two and half years, life sciences companies and global biomanufacturers have invested over $3 billion in Ontario.