A new Covid vaccine manufacturing plant that has just been completed in Laval’s Cité de la Biotech will be up and running by the fall next year, according to the company operating the facility.
The $250-million Laval plant, which officially opened on Feb. 23 with federal and provincial officials present, will eventually produce about 100 million doses of vaccines annually, which is enough for all of Canada, said Moderna’s chief operating and quality officer, Jerh Collins.
The factory will be able to do a lot more than make vaccines against COVID-19, said federal minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, during a news conference.
“Moderna is not just about COVID-19,” said Champagne.
“This is a range of vaccines that we will be able to produce at home. … There are even vaccines potentially for cancer.”
Quebec’s economy minister, Pierre Fitzgibbon, said the project makes it possible to reduce Canada’s dependence on foreign-produced vaccines.
