December 01, 2021: Today, the Government of Alberta announced funding to strengthen Alberta’s life sciences and pharmaceutical sector.
We are excited to share that Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API) will receive $5.6 million funding to build the Canadian Critical Drug Initiative (CCDI) – Canada’s first integrated research, commercialization, and manufacturing cluster to ensure security of supply of critical medicines at commercial volumes. This will not only strengthen the sector but increase Canada’s global competitiveness for manufacturing essential drugs for the future, and help Canadians fight against the current COVID-19 and future infectious disease outbreaks.
The Canadian Critical Drug Initiative (CCDI) is a one-of-a-kind partnership between API and the University of Alberta’s Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute to create a life science cluster in Western Canada. It will serve as Canada’s back-up to manufacture small molecule drugs to address supply chain shortages, will support research and commercialization of Canadian IP, and train highly qualified personnel for careers in the life sciences here.
“We are thrilled to receive funding from the Government of Alberta to establish pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in our province. This investment will be used to fund part of the CCDI that will produce critical drugs needed urgently by Canadians. Importantly, this support unlocks a critical talent pipeline for life science graduates in Canada. The growth of the life sciences sector will be a critical economic driver and Alberta has a decisive role to play. We see this as being a key component of our ability to create meaningful jobs, ensure that we have the critical capacity to address pandemics, and strengthen Canada’s global competitiveness for drug manufacturing.” Andrew MacIsaac, CEO, Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation.
Currently, there are several organizations committed to combatting the pandemic, some are pivoting to address the new challenges while others are leveraging decades of expertise. With support from all levels of government, we will be able to play an expanded, critical role in Canada and around the world as we work together to ensure that we have the medications we need when we need them now and in the future.
Read the press release by the Government of Alberta here.
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