The federal Liberal government’s COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing policy is facing yet another challenge after Maryland-based Novavax announced late Tuesday it may not have enough cash in a year’s time to stay in business.
That means three pillars of the government’s made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine procurement strategy have failed or could soon fail.
In addition to this new hiccup with cash-strapped Novavax, there was the doomed deal with China-based CanSino and a major investment in the now-defunct Medicago.
The government did, however, successfully procure tens of millions of COVID-19 doses from foreign companies like Pfizer and Moderna, firms that supplied highly effective shots that have saved an untold number of Canadians from severe outcomes and death.
The government has long promised it will produce Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine at the National Research Council (NRC) Royalmount site in Montreal — a publicly owned facility in a country that has seen vaccine production all but disappear after decades of mismanagement and changing economics.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, that the country would produce Canadian-made shots at a new purpose-built facility at Royalmount by the end of that year. That never happened after a plan to work with CanSino fell through.
Then, in early 2021, Trudeau announced the partnership with Novavax, saying the NRC’s biologics manufacturing centre would churn out the U.S. company’s COVID-19 shot by “mid-2021.” The plan was billed as a way to lessen Canada’s dependence on foreign sources of shots.
As CBC News has previously reported, the NRC plant still hasn’t produced a single vial of the Novavax vaccine.
While the biologics centre is built and Health Canada has authorized the Novavax shot for use in Canada, the NRC site still isn’t producing vaccines at scale — the complex regulatory and scientific process hasn’t been completed on the government’s ambitious timeline.
WATCH: Canada still without vaccine plant despite federal promises
Canada still without vaccine plant despite federal promises
6 months ago
Duration 2:00
One year after it was supposed to begin producing vaccines for Canada, the government-funded Montreal factory sits idle and continues to face regulation hurdles.
Novavax’s warning Tuesday that it has “substantial doubt” about its ability to stay in business after the next year could derail the federal government’s plan entirely.
“While our current cash flow forecast for the one-year going concern, look-forward period estimates that we have sufficient capital available to fund operations, this forecast is subject to significant uncertainty, including as it relates to 2023 revenue, funding from the U.S. government, and pending arbitration,” Novavax said in a statement while releasing its fourth-quarter results.
“Given these uncertainties, substantial doubt exists regarding our ability to continue as a going concern through one year from the date that these financial statements are issued,” the company said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, speaks with scientist Krishnaraj Tiwari during a visit to the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Royalmount Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre facility in Montreal, Monday, Aug 31, 2020. The site was supposed to pump out COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)
In an interview with Reuters after announcing the financial results, the company’s CEO said the company has been spending at a “hot rate,” and it plans to cut back — including possible job cuts.
CBC News asked Novavax if it plans to continue its work with the NRC given the state of the company’s finances. Novavax hasn’t responded.
A spokesperson for Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the government “will continue to monitor the situation regarding Novavax” and suggested the NRC site could be used to manufacture other vaccines from different companies.
“Built ahead of schedule, the Biologics Manufacturing Centre is capable of commercial, end-to-end production of cell-based vaccines — for whatever the future may hold,” Laurie Bouchard said in a statement to CBC News.
“The centre can host multiple partners, support a range of biomanufacturing activities, and is capable of producing up to 2 million doses per month, depending on the vaccine candidate,” she said.
A vial of the Phase 3 Novavax coronavirus vaccine is seen in this file photo. The Maryland-based company has warned it may run out of cash. (Alastair Grant/AP Photo)
Christine Jodoin, the vice-president of strategic initiatives at the NRC, said the federal research body will “continue to work with Novavax Inc., on the production of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid.”
Jodoin said there may be other partners — and other products — for the site in the future.
The government-owned manufacturing facility “can pivot to produce cell-based vaccines or other drugs to keep Canadians safe.”
The Novavax development follows news last month that Quebec-based Medicago, another COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer, will close down.
Once billed as a Canadian success story, Medicago’s parent company said it didn’t see a future for the Quebec firm despite significant taxpayer funding.
The government also signed an advance purchase agreement with the company to procure tens of millions of doses.
Bouchard defended the government’s record on the vaccine file.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, our government acted quickly to ensure Canadians had access to the most promising COVID vaccines as early as possible,” Bouchard said.
“Because of our quick and decisive actions, we were able to ensure Canada had enough vaccines for every Canadian and we were able to scale up domestic biomanufacturing capacity after 40 years in decline,” she said.
TORONTO – Will Taylor Swift bring chaos or do we all need to calm down?
It’s a question many Torontonians are asking this week as the city braces for the massive fan base of one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
Hundreds of thousands of Swifties are expected to descend on downtown core for the singer’s six concerts which kick off Thursday at the Rogers Centre and run until Nov. 23.
And while their arrival will be a boon to tourism dollars, it could further clog the city’s already gridlocked streets.
Swift’s shows collide with other scheduled events at the nearby Scotiabank Arena, including a Toronto Raptors game on Friday and a Toronto Maple Leafs game on Saturday.
Some locals have already adjusted their plans to avoid the area.
Aahil Dayani says he and some friends intended to throw a birthday bash for one of their pals, until they realized it would overlap with the concerts.
“Ultimately, everybody agreed they just didn’t want to deal with that,” he said.
“Something as simple as getting together and having dinner is now thrown out the window.”
Dayani says the group rescheduled the birthday party for after Swift leaves town. In the meantime, he plans to hunker down at his Toronto residence.
“Her coming into town has kind of changed up my social life,” he added.
“We’re pretty much just not doing anything.”
Max Sinclair, chief executive and founder of A.I. technology firm Ecomtent, has suggested his employees stay away from the company’s downtown offices on concert days, since he doesn’t see the point in forcing people to endure potential traffic jams.
“It’s going to be less productive for us, and it’s going to be just a pain for everyone, so it’s easier to avoid it,” he said.
“We’re a hybrid company, so we can be flexible. It just makes sense.”
Toronto Transit Commission spokesperson Stuart Green says the public agency has been preparing for over a year to ease the pressure of so many Swifties in one confined area.
Dozens of buses and streetcars have been added to the transit routes around the stadium, while the TTC has consulted with the city on how to handle potential emergency scenarios.
“There may be some who will say we’re over-preparing, and that’s fair,” Green said.
“But we know based on what’s happened in other places, better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Electronic Arts has incorporated the Professional Women’s Hockey League into its NHL 25 video game.
The six teams starting their second seasons Nov. 30 will be represented in “play now,” “online versus,” “shootout” and “season” modes, plus a championship Walter Cup, in the updated game scheduled for release Dec. 5, the PWHL and EA Sports announced Wednesday.
Gamers can create a virtual PWHL player.
The league and video game company have agreed to a multi-year partnership, the PWHL stated.
“Our partnership with EA SPORTS opens new doors to elevate women’s hockey across all levels,” said PWHL operations senior vice-president Amy Scheer in a statement.
“Through this alliance, we’ll develop in-game and out-of-game experiences that strengthen the bond between our teams, players, and fans, bringing the PWHL closer to the global hockey community.”
NHL 22 featured playable women’s teams for the first time through an agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Toronto Sceptres forward Sarah Nurse became the first woman to appear on the video game’s cover in 2023 alongside Anaheim Ducks centre Trevor Zegras.
The Ottawa Charge, Montreal Victoire, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens round out the PWHL. The league announced team names and logos in September, and unveiled jerseys earlier this month.
“It is so meaningful that young girls will be able to see themselves in the game,” said Frost forward Taylor Heise, who grew up playing EA’s NHL games.
“It is a big milestone for inclusivity within the hockey community and shows that women’s prominence in hockey only continues to grow.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. continued to navigate weaker consumer demand in the third quarter as it looked ahead to the spinoff of its pork business in 2025.
“This environment has a particularly significant impact on a premium portfolio like ours and I want you to know that we are not sitting still waiting for the macro environment to recover on its own,” said CEO Curtis Frank on a call with analysts.
Frank said the company is working to adapt its strategies to consumer demand. As inflation has stabilized and interest rates decline, he said pressure on consumers is expected to ease.
Maple Leaf reported a third-quarter profit of $17.7 million compared with a loss of $4.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company says the profit amounted to 14 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a loss of four cents per share a year earlier. Sales for the quarter totalled $1.26 billion, up from $1.24 billion a year ago.
“At a strategic level … we’re certainly seeing the transitory impacts of an inflation-stressed consumer environment play through our business,” Frank said.
“We are seeing more trade-down than we would like. And we are making more investments to grow our volume and protect our market share than we would like in the moment. But again, we believe that those impacts will prove to be transitory as they have been over the course of history.”
Financial results are improving in the segment as feed costs have stabilized, said Dennis Organ, president, pork complex.
Maple Leaf, which is working to spin off its pork business into a new, publicly traded company to be called Canada Packers Inc. and led by Organ, also said it has identified a way to implement the plan through a tax-free “butterfly reorganization.”
Frank said Wednesday that the new structure will see Maple Leaf retain slightly lower ownership than previously intended.
The company said it continues to expect to complete the transaction next year. However, the spinoff under the new structure is subject to an advance tax ruling from the Canada Revenue Agency and will take longer than first anticipated.
Maple Leaf announced the spinoff in July with a plan to become a more focused consumer packaged goods company, including its Maple Leaf and Schneiders brands.
“The prospect of executing the transaction as a tax-free spin-off is a positive development as we continue to advance our strategy to unlock value and unleash the potential of these two unique and distinct businesses,” Frank said in the news release.
He also said that Maple Leaf is set on delivering profitability for its plant protein business in mid-2025.
“This includes the recent completion of a procurement project aimed at leveraging our purchasing scale,” he said.
On an adjusted basis, Maple Leaf says it earned 18 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 13 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
The results were largely in line with expectations, said RBC analyst Irene Nattel in a note.
Maple Leaf shares were down 4.5 per cent in midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange at $21.49.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
