AstraZeneca (AZ) has announced a major expansion of its research footprint in Canada with the creation of 500 highly-skilled jobs and a new Alexion rare disease research hub.
The investment will also contribute to the company’s pre-existing research and development (R&D) hub in Mississauga, Ontario, where many of the scientific and high-tech jobs will be placed.
The Mississauga-based R&D hub has doubled in size since 2019, AZ said, and is currently leading more than 120 oncology and biopharmaceutical global clinical studies.
The expansion follows the Ontario government’s recent introduction of its first-ever life sciences strategy, with AZ citing the province’s network of universities, hospitals and research centres, alongside a ‘diverse scientific talent pool’, as the driving force behind the investment.
Kiersten Combs, president of AZ Canada, said: “We’re pleased to see the steps that governments at both the provincial and federal level have taken to create a more supportive environment for the biopharmaceutical industry.”
Alexion was acquired by AZ in July 2021, marking the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker’s entry into the rare diseases sector.
Commenting on the expansion, the group’s vice president, development operations and Canadian site head, said: “Research in rare and ultra-rare diseases presents unique and significant challenges that require continuous innovation to deliver meaningful medicines for patients and their families.
“This milestone investment in our development hub is a demonstration of our commitment to rare disease patients globally, including the 3.2 million Canadians living with a rare disease, roughly two-thirds of them children.”
Bonnie Crombie, mayor of Mississauga, added that the city “could not be more thrilled” that AZ has chosen to invest and grow “much-needed” research and development capacity in the area.
In addition to the Canadian expansion, AZ is also continuing to progress its application for its $360m ‘next-generation’ active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing (API) facility in Ireland.
Originally announced by the company in September 2021, the facility will be built at the Alexion Campus in College Park in Dublin and produce APIs – the substances in drugs that are responsible for the beneficial health effects experienced by patients – to meet the demand of its growing drug pipeline.
As well as allowing for late-stage development and early commercial supply, the investment is also expected to create around 100 highly skilled jobs, including scientists and engineers.