OTTAWA —
Massachusetts-based drug maker Moderna will build an mRNA vaccine manufacturing plant in Canada within the next two years, CEO Stephane Bancel said Tuesday.
The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the federal government that will result in Canada hosting Moderna’s first foreign operation. It’s not yet clear how much money Canada has offered to Moderna for the project.
“I believe that this technology can allow Canada to be ready for the next virus,” Bancel said at an announcement in Montreal.
“Whether it’s a small outbreak, or a big pandemic, like the one we just saw — God forbid — Canada will be ready. We’ll be ready on Canadian soil to make, in a matter of months, a new vaccine for a new emerging virus to protect the Canadian population.”
The agreement will see Canada gain access to Moderna’s mRNA “development engine” and get priority access to the doses. Bancel said Canada can also ask Moderna to shift its production lines to respond to a new or emerging threat.
It will also include a research and development component for a host of other conditions besides COVID-19, including the flu, heart disease, cancer and rare genetic disorders.
This new technology has already changed millions of lives, Bancel said, but over the next 10 to 20 years he believes it will change millions more.
Canada, whose life-sciences industry has been decimated over the last three decades, wants in on the action.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to rebuild the industry, and the recent budget included a $2.2-billion, seven-year investment to grow the life-science and biotech sectors.
Almost half of that money targets companies that want to expand or set up vaccine and drug production in Canada. None of the COVID-19 vaccines to date have been made in Canada, leaving the country entirely reliant on imports to fill vaccine orders. As a result, Canada was slower out of the gate on immunizations than some of its counterparts who had domestic production. Canada also likely had to pay more per dose for some vaccines as well, although the federal government has not confirmed all details of its contracts.
Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, who announced the news with Bancel in Montreal, said Canada’s new commitment to life sciences and biotech companies is attracting a lot of attention from companies, including Moderna.
“It’s no secret that every country in the world wants a COVID-19 vaccine made in their country,” he said.
Bancel said similar agreements are now being negotiated with other countries as well.
The location of the new facility hasn’t been determined, but Bancel said the availability of an educated workforce will be the main deciding factor. He said the design is done and they’ll need to start hiring very soon so training can begin.
Currently Moderna’s vaccine is made by Swiss drugmaker Lonza, at Lonza facilities in Switzerland and New Hampshire.
Mathew Clancy, a media relations manager for Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, dismissed the announcement. He said the Conservatives have a “detailed” plan to partner with pharmaceutical companies to increase production in Canada.
“Justin Trudeau has repeatedly overpromised and failed to deliver when it comes to domestic vaccine manufacturing in Canada,” said Clancy. “There is no reason for Canadians to believe that this facility will ever be built under Trudeau’s leadership.”
This is the second major deal Ottawa has made to get mRNA vaccines made in Canada in the last three months.
In May, Champagne said Ottawa would provide $199 million to Resilience Technologies in Mississauga, Ont., about half the cost of expanding its existing plant to make up to 640 million doses of mRNA vaccines every year.
Canada has also promised $126 million for a new National Research Council to build a biologics production plant in Montreal, that is set to make the Novavax vaccine, once it is approved.
Canada also promised more than $400 million to help Sanofi complete a $925-million expansion of its vaccine production plant in Toronto. The existing plant mainly makes flu vaccines, and the expansion will focus on that as well.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2021.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
