At API, growth is measured not only by milestones reached, but by the strength,
capability and momentum we continue to build across Canada’s life sciences ecosystem. To put it simply, there is no shortage of accomplishments – it’s been a great year!
Over the past year, we’ve seen meaningful progress driven by deep technical expertise, strong partnerships and a clear commitment to strengthening domestic capacity, from talent development and innovation support to advanced manufacturing and quality systems. As we reflect on a remarkable year of significant achievements, Alberta’s life sciences sector is becoming more resilient, collaborative and future ready.
Milestones Overview
- Key Updates and Developments at CMPC: The CMPC reached several milestones this year including the successful completion of our Quality Management Systems with Novatek and Factory Acceptance Tests for our core equipment, establishing a cross-border strategic alliance with Alchem Laboratories and securing our first commercial product contract with Vimy Pharma.
- Program Expansion to Support Alberta’s Innovation Pipeline: Two new programs were launched: the Life Sciences Placement Program (LSPP) in partnership with Mitacs, and the MedTech Innovation Highway Pilot Program, expanding support for innovation, talent development and commercialization across Alberta.
- Dr. Launa Aspeslet became API’s first Chief Translational Officer (CTO): With a successful track record in scaling biotech, Launa oversees API’s non-manufacturing services, including regulatory affairs, pre-clinical and clinical development, quantitative solutions and early product prototyping.
- Celebrating Life Sciences Week 2025: We celebrated our third annual Life Sciences Week, achieving record-breaking registrations and strong sector engagement across more than 60 events.
Life Sciences Week 2025
Life Sciences Week 2025 marked its third year, and we are proud to say that it has steadily grown into a meaningful gathering point for Alberta’s life sciences community since its inception in 2023. This year there were 6,252 registrations – a 56% increase from last year – and the scale of participation reflected a growing interest in collaboration at a time when the sector is evolving quickly.
“We have to tell our stories so that the broader public understands that we’re doing this work right here in Alberta. We’re doing this work in Canada and we’re solving some of the biggest problems in the world right here at home.” – Leah Sarich, Head of Story at Thin Air Labs
You can read more about our impact for Life Sciences Week in our impact blog.
Two Programming Initiatives were Launched during Life Sciences Week
This year at Life Sciences Week, we announced two initiatives that speak directly to the future of Canada’s life sciences ecosystem. These initiatives reflect our commitment to strengthening the foundations of Canada’s life sciences sector – by empowering people, accelerating innovation and removing barriers that stand in the way of progress.
Life Sciences Placement Program (LSPP)
A big moment for API this year was the announcement of our Life Sciences Placement Program (LSPP) at Life Sciences Week 2025. The launch of LSPP was a meaningful moment for us, not because of the announcement itself, but because of what it represents for students and early-career professionals across the sector. Developed in partnership with Mitacs, the program aims to create up to 1,000 paid internships that connect emerging talent with academic institutions and industry partners. LSPP was designed to streamline the application process and offer training that supports both participants and hosts.
“We’re thrilled to be able to announce this very important program at this key juncture in the development of Canada’s life sciences sector, right at a moment where Canada is pulling together.” – Andrew MacIsaac, CEO at API
The intent behind LSPP is simple: to help build a more sustainable pipeline of people who can contribute to Canada’s growing life sciences sector. It’s a long-term effort, and one we hope will make it easier for students, researchers and organizations to move ideas forward with few barriers.
MedTech Innovation Highway Pilot Program
This year, API partnered with NAIT’s Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation (CAMS), CR Consulting, Parlee McLaws LLP and Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) to launch the Medtech Innovation Highway Pilot Program – a collaborative initiative designed to fast-track medical device innovations from concept to market. This pilot represents an exciting milestone, bringing together the complementary strengths of each organization as expert partners in regulatory affairs, intellectual property, technical development and business strategy.
For API, this ensemble partnership furthers our commitment to building and strengthening Canada’s life sciences infrastructure. By collaborating with industry and academic partners, we’re helping to foster innovation and ensure that promising medical technologies get the support they need – ultimately advancing patient care and life-saving solutions.
Updates from the Critical Medicines Production Centre (CMPC)
Building Clinical and Commercial Opportunities
Perhaps our biggest milestone of 2025 is the announcement of securing our first commercial product contract for the CMPC from Vimy Pharma. The Toronto-based pharmaceutical company partnered with API for their made-in-Canada generic version of Ozempic, set to begin production in 2026. This partnership is an example of how the CMPC is built to scale to meet commercial opportunity that supports Canada’s economy, while also maintaining critical readiness should demand for clinical drugs in Canada arise. The broader value of this milestone lies in establishing reliable, domestic manufacturing capacity at a time when ongoing supply-chain pressures continue to challenge the sector.
We also announced a strategic alliance with Alchem Laboratories Corporation to bolster antimicrobial and essential medicines programs – another step toward reinforcing supply-chain resiliency on both sides of the border.
Together, these developments illustrate how Canada’s life sciences infrastructure is evolving and how central a role API is playing in that transformation. While we are celebrating the CMPC’s first commercial product, the more exciting outcome is how the facility significantly expands manufacturing capacity for both clinical and commercial needs. This ensures that API and the CMPC are providing companies with the infrastructure and capabilities they need, right here in Canada. While there is still work ahead, the momentum built over the past year points clearly toward a more resilient and self-sustaining system for clinical and commercial medicines.
Factory Acceptance Tests Complete!
As momentum continues to build at the Critical Medicines Production Centre (CMPC), we couldn’t be more excited to share a series of major milestones on the road to operational readiness! We’ve successfully completed four Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs) for the CMPC’s core sterile manufacturing and packaging systems. This is an important step toward completing the facility and preparing for our full-scale operations.
These milestones include the successful FATs of the following key equipment:
- Fully automated vial inspection system (Antares Vision Group): A high-speed system capable of inspecting up to 18,000 vials per hour, covering particle and cosmetic inspection, container closure integrity testing (CCIT) and overall quality assurance.
- Robotic fill-and-finish line (Steriline): An advanced aseptic processing platform integrating washing, depyrogenation, and fully automated filling and closing operations within a single, compliant system designed for both liquid and powder formats.
- Washer and sterilizer (Fedegari): A critical sterile manufacturing system that ensures direct-contact components such as vials and stoppers meet stringent aseptic and regulatory requirements.
- Packaging line (Romaco): The final unit among the CMPC’s four core equipment systems – a fully integrated system designed to deliver precise, compliant and efficient packaging for vials and bottles, coupling continuous-motion labeling and automated cartoning within one streamlined workflow.
Our Technical Operations and Engineering teams worked closely with our partners in Italy to complete each FAT, verifying that all systems meet rigorous standards for quality, efficiency, regulatory compliance and data integrity required for critical medicines manufacturing.
With all four FAT milestones now complete, the CMPC enters its next exciting phase of delivery, installation, and on-site commissioning and validation of our core systems. We are particularly proud of this achievement, as it demonstrates the technical sophistication of the facility and reinforces CMPC’s future role as a cornerstone of secure, resilient and high-quality pharmaceutical production in Canada.
Quality Systems Fully Integrated
Progress toward operational readiness at the CMPC continued this year with the successful completion of the Novatek CSV qualification – marking the final step in implementing the facility’s full quality-management system. Earlier in the year, we launched core Novatek modules including Documentation, Change Request, Deviation, CAPA, Training, Audit and Complaints, establishing the foundation for a fully electronic, GMP-aligned system.
Building on that groundwork, our team worked with Novatek and IT partners to validate the Material Management System, LIMS (including stability) and the Calibration and Maintenance module in just 3.5 weeks. Together, these systems will support accurate material traceability, enhance chemical and microbiological testing and ensure proper oversight of nearly 300 pieces of equipment.
With our electronic quality-management system now fully in place, the CMPC is equipped to strengthen data integrity, reduce manual processes and support efficient, compliant operations.
What’s Next & Conclusion
Though 2025 was a momentous year for API, there is still much more ahead. The progress we highlight is more than a series of milestones – it is the outcome of strong leadership and deep technical expertise.
Central to this work is Dr. Launa Aspeslet, API’s first Chief Translational Officer, named earlier this year, whose nearly three decades of experience – from early-stage biotech to global regulatory leadership – have been instrumental in scaling innovation. Under her guidance, the Research & Technical team has propelled API forward, navigating complex regulatory requirements, building essential manufacturing capacity and putting in place the systems that are bringing the CMPC ever closer to operational readiness.