There are “not many” names on the list of potential buyers for Medicago, agrees the Minister of Economy and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon. Otherwise, this Quebec-based biopharmaceutical would have already been sold by its owner, the Mitsubishi conglomerate.
“Listen, they [Mitsubishi] probably looked for someone, he said Monday, on the sidelines of the presentation of the annual results of Montreal International, in downtown Montreal. It’s a technology that we really like, but there have still been several hundred million dollars invested to date and no income. »
Mr. Fitzgibbon did not indicate how many companies were interested in Medicago. Some have “raised their hands”, he assures. Quebec is working hard with Ottawa to avoid a liquidation of the biopharmaceutical, which has won the support of governments on many occasions in the past.
Mitsubishi threw in the towel on February 2 by announcing its intention to liquidate the company’s assets. The Japanese conglomerate had mentioned “significant changes that have occurred on the international scene against COVID-19 since the authorization of Covifenz” – the plant-based vaccine developed by Medicago. Approved by Health Canada in February 2022, the vaccine had been rejected by the World Health Organization due to the biopharmaceutical’s ties to the tobacco industry.
The tobacco company Philip Morris, which was a shareholder of Medicago with a 21% stake, subsequently sold its shares. It seems to have come too late.
François Arcand, who had co-founded Medicago alongside Louis-Philippe Vézina in 1997, had denounced the process put in place by the Japanese multinational, in a letter addressed to Jean-Marc Gilson, CEO of Mitsubishi Chemical Group that The Press had obtained.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, THE PRESS
François Arcand, who co-founded Medicago alongside Louis-Philippe Vézina in 1997, denounced the process put in place by the Japanese multinational.
Asked about this exit, Mr. Fitzgibbon replied that Mitsubishi knows that it must work with the Legault and Trudeau governments if it wants to obtain something for Medicago.
“We are confident in this process,” said the minister. Are we going to succeed? It is still premature to conclude. »
Medicago obtained a loan of 75 million from the Quebec government – which must be repaid – and 176 million from Ottawa.