The CCDI will add much-needed capacity to produce and manufacture small molecule drugs, fortifying Canada’s health system and accelerating the growth of the life sciences industry.

Critical Medicines Production Centre

Central to the CCDI is the development of a Life Sciences Campus with a core manufacturing facility – the CMPC.

The CMPC will be a new 83,000+ square-foot manufacturing facility located on a 7-acre plot of land in the center of the Edmonton Research Park – making it Canada’s largest and best-equipped facility of its kind. The CMPC will produce small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients and conduct sterile, aseptic fill, and finish of traditional and biologic drugs in capacity ranges required to meet drug shortages and pandemic needs. This will enable significant benefits to the health system, seed and accelerate the growth of local companies across the supply chain, and add much-needed capacity to produce and manufacture small-molecule drugs.

Critical Medicines Production Centre Aerial SW CloseUp

What will the CCDI do?

Secure supply of critical drugs in Canada

The CCDI allows for the production of critical hospital drugs with a wide range of indications including regular pharmaceuticals, that are sole-sourced or at higher risk of supply disruption due to market challenges, ensuring a reliable supply vital to Canadians’ health. The CMPC facility will be prepared and can be mobilized quickly in the event of a crisis. It also includes the capability to manufacture, fill, and sterilize emulsion injectables such as anesthetics.

Increase Innovation Support

Increase Canada’s ability to support more companies through all phases of drug development, from early drug discovery to human clinical trials in a wide range of phases. More specifically, the CMPC will be a GMP-certified facility for phase 3 and commercial-scale manufacturing. This will enable innovations from researchers across Alberta and Canada, resulting in the development of life-saving drugs, and mitigating the current challenge of innovative companies having to look beyond our borders at the time they are beginning to truly scale.

Enable on-site small molecule production for the Canadian market

Customized equipment within the CMPC will offer an exceptionally wide volume range from 1mL to 100mL with 100% in-situ weighing for both vials and bottles. In a steady state, the facility will be able to produce 73.2 million doses per annum, with a sprint capacity to produce a product for all of Canada in 100 days. The wide range of flexibility of the facility and its advanced robotic filling line enables it to quickly shift from one product to another, increasing its ability to handle a wide range of products and projects in any given year.

Provide Economic Growth

The CCDI will generate over 350 jobs in the life sciences industry, providing significant benefits to the Canadian life sciences ecosystem, including attracting investment, creating jobs, and retaining intellectual property and talent. Companies attracted to the region are expected to lead to thousands of new jobs in the decade to come.

CMPC Buildout

Anticipated completion and opening of the Critical Medicines Production Centre is 2026. As of its groundbreaking in June 2024, three years of design and specification work have been completed. Development permits have been approved, and the warm shell is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, allowing interior work to proceed. Complex equipment is currently being custom manufactured for the facility in Europe and the United States, with initial deliveries in early 2025.

Upgrades to the BBDC

The CMPC will work in conjunction with the 72,000 square-foot Biotechnology Business Development Centre (BBDC) in the Edmonton Research Park, which is being upgraded to include GMP-certified manufacturing suites and Health Canada-approved warehousing and import capacity. The BBDC will also incubate local companies in the scale-up stage.

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Posted: Aug 30, 2023