Construction Underway on BioVectra’s mRNA Biomanufacturing Facility

Construction is well underway on BioVectra’s new mRNA biomanufacturing facility in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI) in Canada.

The Canadian pharma and biotech contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with global services had announced plans for the $79.6 million state-of-the-art mRNA vaccine and biomanufacturing facility, making it one of the first in the country. The cutting-edge plant will be dedicated to the manufacturing of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics.

BioVectra shared the construction update on social media, including images of the completed foundation and “structural framework in progress” at the excavated site with the province’s iconic red soils in view.

Construction is underway at our state-of-the-art #Biomanufacturing and Vaccine Center with the facility’s foundation complete & structural frame work in progress. Construction is expected to be complete in Q3 of 2023. Learn more! https://t.co/4f4ZnFTEGS#mRNA #therapeutics #CDMO pic.twitter.com/1FywlTyhuZ

— BIOVECTRA (@BioVectra) July 8, 2022

The company broke ground on the facility in April this year and is on track to complete construction by the end of the third quarter in 2023.

The production facility will be equipped to develop and manufacture plasmid DNA, nucleic acids, recombinant proteins and other therapeutics produced through methods involving microbial fermentation.

Related: Biovectra to Build First mRNA Vaccine and Drug Manufacturing Plant in Canada

“BIOVECTRA is a true leader in bioscience research and innovation, and we’re so proud they call the east coast home,” said PEI Premier Dennis King in a press release in April. “This new facility means many great things for our province. It means good jobs for Islanders, strengthening our economy, readiness for future health emergencies, and ultimately, growing the bioscience sector in Prince Edward Island.”

BioVectra’s mRNA Vaccine and Biomanufacturing Centre will be a 36,000-square feet addition to the company’s existing Charlottetown campus. The company says that the cGMP facility will be able to produce drug formulations for up to 160 million doses of mRNA vaccine every year. Additionally, the site will be able to prepare and package 70 million fill and finish vaccine doses per year for commercial distribution.

“Today is the tangible beginning to a very exciting future for our company,” said Oliver Technow, CEO BioVectra. “This biomanufacturing centre is the cornerstone of BIOVECTRA’s expansion plans for an end-to-end solution to produce mRNA vaccines and therapies.”

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the need for domestic biomanufacturing facilities, especially in the face of unexpected health crises.

In addition to a $39.8 million investment into BioVectra’s new biomanufacturing facility by the Canadian federal government, the Canadian government has outlined a biomanufacturing and life sciences strategy to prioritize access to “critical vaccines, therapeutics and other life-saving medicines.” This includes collaboration with partners in government, industry and academia to improve domestic production capacities for vaccines and therapeutics “to ensure that Canada’s biomanufacturing and life science sector is at the cutting edge, and ready to respond to future health priorities.”