This article written in french by Stéphane St-Amour was automatically translated using AI
The pharmaceutical subcontractor Biodextris inaugurated its new facilities at 245 Armand-Frappier Boulevard on October 4.
The event marked the beginning of a new era for this Quebec-based company, which specializes in the development, clinical manufacturing, and packaging of vaccines and biological products on an industrial scale.
$25M Investment
The pandemic, which helped breathe new life into the life sciences industry, led Biodextris management to invest around $25 million to support its growth.
“This expansion will not only increase the company’s productivity but also address a strategic need within our economy,” said Bicha Ngo, President and CEO of Investissement Québec (IQ). IQ, the government’s financial arm, invested $3 million of its own funds into this project, in addition to the $4 million provided through the ESSOR program it administers on behalf of the Quebec government.
“By supporting the development of their new facilities, we are further strengthening Laval’s position as an innovation hub in this field,” said Christopher Skeete, Minister for the Economy and Minister Responsible for the Laval Region, who attended the ceremony.
Biodextris also received $900,000 in funding from Canada Economic Development (CED). Present at the inauguration, Vimy MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister responsible for the federal agency, Annie Koutrakis, reaffirmed her government’s commitment to “invest” in SMEs so they can “remain competitive and innovative.”
Former Headquarters of GSK
Biodextris has established its new vaccine and biologics development and manufacturing center in the former administrative offices of GSK, the British pharmaceutical giant that had established its North American vaccine research and development headquarters in Laval in 2007.
Incidentally, Biodextris was founded in 2015 following the closure of GSK’s research center at 525 Cartier Boulevard, when three of its researchers chose to persevere and continue some operations in Quebec.
This contract research organization (CRO) has since expanded over the past nine years within GSK’s former Laval facilities, which have been transformed into a multi-tenant center serving startups in a biopharmaceutical industry undergoing significant change.
Quadrupled Production Capacity
Biodextris’s new facilities quadruple its production capacity, leading the company to create around twenty jobs over the next three to five years. The company currently has 44 employees.
The expansion will also “allow for the addition of a brand-new division dedicated to the development and manufacture of clinical batches of biotherapeutics based on messenger RNA and plasmid technology,” the company states.
“This move represents much more than a simple change of location,” said General Manager Cédric Héroux, asserting that it reflects a continuous commitment to innovation and excellence in the life sciences field.
Simple and Free
Meta (Facebook and Instagram) is blocking your news from Courrier Laval, and Google continues to do so as well, in response to Bill C-18.
To access your news and stay connected to the source, Courrier Laval invites you to download its app. This will allow you to continue reading your news for free and in real time, with fewer ads. Don’t forget to enable notifications and spread the word to your friends and contacts!
Apple: https://apple.co/3wsgmKE
Android: https://bit.ly/3uGPo1D
Newsletter: https://courrierlaval.com/infolettre/
