Tobacco company Philip Morris International has divested all of its shares from Medicago, a Canadian vaccine collaborator whose plant-based COVID-19 vaccine, Covifenz, was initially rejected by the World Health Organization over its ties with Big Tobacco.
In a statement on Thursday, Philip Morris spokesperson David Fraser said the company decided to divest its stake in Medicago and that it’s “the most appropriate way forward.”
“We have long believed in the public health potential of Medicago’s innovative approach for developing new plant-based vaccines and we hope this potential is realized for the benefit of global public health,” Fraser said in an email.
Medicago, whose headquarters is in Quebec, is now 100 per cent owned by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma. Before the decision, Philip Morris, which produces Marlboro cigarettes, owned 21 per cent of the company’s shares.
In an email to CBC News, the Quebec company said the divestment is “the most appropriate way forward.” A spokesperson for Medicago said this ensures its “future growth and ability to achieve its mission,” which is to “create and deliver effective responses to emerging global health challenges.”
Covifenz can now reach international markets
In 2020, the federal government gave Medicago $173 million to develop its vaccine, build a new production facility and purchase 76 million doses. In February, Health Canada approved Covifenz for adults 18 to 64 years old — making it the first plant-based vaccine to be approved for use in Canada.
But in March, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it’s not accepting Medicago’s request for Covifenz’s emergency use, due to the company’s “linkage with the tobacco industry.”
François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry, says Ottawa has been working with Medicago and its shareholders to ‘find a solution that supports the growth of the company.’ (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
WHO said the decision was put on hold, which temporarily kept Covifenz out of COVAX, an international COVID-19 vaccine-sharing initiative.
François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry, said the federal government has been working with Medicago and its shareholders to “find a solution that supports the growth of the company.”
“This transaction is a step in the right direction, and we will continue to follow this matter very closely,” Champagne said in an email.
Dr. Scott Halperin, director of the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said the decision now allows Medicago to distribute its vaccine internationally if it reapplies with WHO.
“It’s important because it allows Medicago to play on the international stage … so I think it could be very good news,” Halperin said.
“One would have to hypothesize that if Medicago was no longer able to have any type of global vaccine market that they would be a horrible investment for anybody.”
Quebec-based Medicago produced Covifenz, the first plant-based COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for use in Canada. In 2020, the federal government gave Medicago $173 million to develop its vaccine, build a new production facility and purchase 76 million doses. (Turgut Yeter/CBC)
Public Services and Procurement Canada didn’t answer CBC’s questions on when the 76 million doses of Covifenz are expected to be delivered from Medicago.
In a statement, the department said negotiations between Ottawa and Medicago “are ongoing.”
Decision applauded by tobacco critic
Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, a charity advocating for tobacco control, reduction and prevention, said he’s “relieved” that Canada is no longer collaborating with a multinational tobacco company.
“It’s good news,” he said. “Hopefully this vaccine can get another review by the World Health Organization.”
Hagen criticized the government’s decision to collaborate with Medicago in the first place, stating that public funds could have been better invested in other Canadian companies that aren’t backed by Big Tobacco, which he accuses of trying to “whitewash” its image.
Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, says public funds could have been better invested in other Canadian companies that aren’t backed by Big Tobacco. (Colin Hall/CBC)
“We felt that it was highly unethical. It’s actually a contravention of a legally binding treaty: the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,” he said.
The framework, which is managed by WHO, commits to protect public health policies “from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.” Canada signed it in 2005.
Earlier this year, a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada said the federal government “studied the matter of its investment in Medicago carefully” and believes it is still “compliant with its treaty obligations related to tobacco control” with WHO.
‘We need that capacity in Canada’
Halperin of Dalhousie said Medicago’s vaccine is produced in the leaf of a plant that’s a relative of tobacco and that the plant itself acts as a “factory” for producing viral particles that are part of the vaccine.
“It’s very novel technology,” he said, adding that Covifenz is the first vaccine that uses this technology to fight COVID-19.
Dr. Scott Halperin, director of the Canadian Center for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University, says it’s critical that Canada build on its capability to produce vaccines for domestic and global markets. (Turgut Yeter/CBC)
Canada lost the capability to produce its vaccines years ago due to the consolidation and buyout of many companies, and the government has recognized that deficiency, Halperin said.
“That’s going to take time to rebuild…. The Medicago story is just one aspect of it,” he said, adding that it’s critical to have domestic vaccine-supply ability because borders tend to close during emergencies.
“Despite what everybody says about global co-operation, borders still close and we need that capacity in Canada — both for our own capability but also to contribute to the international scene.”
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
