Largest vaccine production plant in Canada opens in Toronto
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is announcing the opening of a major vaccine production plant in Toronto today — part of Canada’s efforts to build up the domestic biomanufacturing sector in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new Sanofi facility is the largest in Canada and is expected to significantly increase Canada’s domestic production of pediatric and adult vaccines for whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that Canada’s domestic production capacity was insufficient to respond to the pandemic emergency, leaving Canada to rely on imported vaccines.
Sanofi, a global biopharmaceutical company, received $415 million from Canada and another $55 million from the Ontario government, to build a flu vaccine and pandemic preparedness plant at its Toronto campus by 2026.
