Sanofi invests $540mn in Toronto-based vaccine facility

Leading French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has announced that it will be investing €350mn (CAD$540mn) in a new vaccine manufacturing facility in Toronto, marking a significant commitment to its Canadian operations.

The investment will be one of the largest ever made by a company in a single building, enhancing public health in Canada and across the world.

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“Canada has a strong legacy in the research and development of vaccines,” said David Loew, Executive Vice President and Head of Sanofi Pasteur. “With this investment, Sanofi is renewing our longstanding commitment to making Canada central in our effort to protect and improve human health across the globe.”

The announcement was made at Sanofi Pasteur’s Toronto facility – a site that was previously home to the world’s largest commercial insulin production and was the country’s sole supplier of diabetes treatments until 1980.

“Vaccines save three million lives every year and this new facility will take us one step closer to a world where no one suffers or dies from a vaccine-preventable disease,” Loew continued.

The new manufacturing plant will allow Sanofi to up its production capacity in order to meet growing demand for the Pertussis vaccine, whilst also being equipped with the capabilities to produce the diphtheria and tetanus vaccines.

The building is forecast to be complete by 2021.