SASKATOON – A center that can develop up to 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine a year has opened in Saskatoon, and officials say it can soon export vaccines to North America and Europe.
SASKATOON – A center that can develop up to 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine a year has opened in Saskatoon, and officials say it can soon export vaccines to North America and Europe.
The University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Organization has completed construction of its Level 3 containment facility, considered the largest in Canada.
It is capable of manufacturing both human and animal vaccines for dangerous viruses.
“We have the ability to work with these pathogens, discover, develop new vaccines and then make them at home, and that saves time, and time is very important during a pandemic,” said CEO and CEO Volker Gerdts Tuesday.
When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic two years ago by the World Health Organization, this facility was unfathomable in Canada, Gerdts said.
“During the pandemic, we relied on other countries to make vaccines for us. Now we are changing that and we are building capacity … to make vaccines in Canada in the future for Canadians.”
If this facility had existed at the beginning of the pandemic, lives could have been saved, said Daniel Vandal, federal minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada.
“It was very clear from the beginning that we needed Canadian vaccine production when COVID arrived. We spent a couple of years that were very difficult,” Vandal said.
Gerdts said there are ongoing talks with several companies in hopes of getting their vaccines against COVID-19 in Saskatchewan.
Any commercial vaccine manufactured at the facility would meet regulatory requirements for sale in North America and the European Union, said Trina Racine, the center’s director of vaccine development.
“It puts us in a better position to keep Canadians safe and play a prominent role in North America and the world in vaccine production. And for Saskatchewan, this is a fantastic story. It is one more experience we can export from this great province “. she said.
A good handful of COVID-19 biofabrication facilities currently operate in Canada, but Gerdts said Saskatoon’s is the first of its kind in the country.
For example, he said, biofabrication at the Montreal facility can only make two types of vaccines. While downtown Saskatoon can make mRNA, protein and Novavax vaccines, among others.
“What sets us apart from theirs is that we are able to manufacture human and animal vaccines at the same facility,” Gerdts said.
He said there is always the risk of diseases and viruses from around the world spreading in North America, and the Saskatoon facilities are designed to be investigated in real time.
“So pathogens, in the future that require containment, we can work with that here. Because this space already works the largest containment facility in Canada,” Gerdts said.
“This facility will allow us to respond quickly to all platforms … and we hope to have a vaccine in less than 100 days.”
The center brings exotic animals to investigate, including a colony of bats, because bats are known to harbor a number of viruses.
Gerdts said insects and reptiles are also introduced, as climate change continues to create uncertainty about the spread of insect-borne diseases such as mosquitoes, ticks and flies.
“It’s great that a research organization like ours makes … vaccines,” Gerdts said. “It’s critical to protecting not only Canadians, but our livestock industries as well.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 28, 2022.
Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press