PostPandemic: COVID-19 was wake-up call for Canada's limited biotech industry. Will it improve moving forward?

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Despite federal funding, Canadian manufacturers and producers still have not created a single approved vaccine

Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine roll-out has been bumpy from the start. The approach has seen disruptions in receiving doses from international producers and slow delivery to provinces, leaving many Canadians upset as they watch people in other countries get inoculated quicker.

“So basically, the whole delivery system had already been worked out and tested in animals and some humans. But for both of those diseases, there had been no further large epidemics to do the Phase two studies of these vaccines,” said Saxinger. “They basically, almost like swapped, out the cassette in terms of the genetic material, using the source code to sequence and started working on that.”

However, none of the approved products have come out of Canada. They are being produced in the United States and Europe.A decade ago, BIOTECanada’s vaccine industry committee told the government to prepare for a pandemic, said Andrew Casey, president of the national industry association group. Still, governments of all stripes did not invest heavily into the biotech industry.

The U.K. has poured money into vaccination projects, including $115 million towards the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine partnership last May.to produce its vaccine by the end of 2020. It also recently announced funding to help each of the 50 states get jabs into American arms.Canada’s approach, however, was to make investments into various producers inside and outside the country.

“I think Canadians will have a very different perspective on all that six months from now,” said Champagne. “I think the reason it was turned down, we have four reviewers, but one of them said our timelines were too slow. Well, you know, fair enough, but it does take a long time to do it properly. You know, if we had got that grant, we almost certainly would be in phase one clinical trials right now,” said Houghton.

He said his team is putting together a proposal for the federal government to match the $20-million commitment from the province.

 

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“A decade ago, BIOTECanada’s vaccine industry committee told the government to prepare for a pandemic, said Andrew Casey, president of the national industry association group. Still, governments of all stripes did not invest heavily into the biotech industry.“

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Belgique Dernières Nouvelles, Belgique Actualités