API, University of Alberta break ground on pharma mfg. facility
By DE Staff
General Medical construction edmonton pharma vaccines
(Credit: GlobeNewswire)
Construction is set to begin on a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in the Edmonton Research Park that will provide Canadians with a supply of drugs.
A result of a collaboration between Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API) and the University of Alberta’s Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute, the Critical Medicines Production Centre (CMPC) is the cornerstone of the $200 million Canadian Critical Drug Initiative (CCDI)—a strategy devised in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to secure supply chain resilience and solidify Alberta’s and Canada’s position as a pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Officially unveiled at a groundbreaking ceremony, the more than 83,000-sq.-ft. facility will reportedly be unique in Canada with its ability to produce more than 70 million doses of a product a year and a critical sprint capacity to fill the needs of Canada in under 100 days. Benefits include improved patient access to needed medicines, enhanced hospital operations and the addition of a capacity to produce and manufacture therapeutic drugs here at home. One of the first products of the facility—Propofol—is a critical hospital drug, and shortages can lead to surgery cancellations and delays.
With support from all orders of government, the CCDI is a contributor to Alberta’s burgeoning biomanufacturing and life sciences sector, reportedly creating more than 350 jobs in Alberta and notable additional employment in spin-off industries. Investment includes $80.5 million in federal funding through PrairiesCan, $17.6 million from the Government of Alberta, and City of Edmonton approval of the lease required to build the CMPC in the Edmonton Research Park.
Construction for the CMPC is set to be completed by 2026.
“The Critical Medicines Production Centre will enable Alberta to produce a wide range of high-demand medicines. And it will do so much more than that – it will accelerate health innovation in the province, helping to further diversify Alberta’s economy, creating new jobs and opportunities for investment, and reducing barriers to commercialization and talent attraction,” said Aminah Robinson Fayek, Vice-President (Research and Innovation), University of Alberta.
