(Montreal) The Government of Quebec will be able to recover the loan of some $60 million granted to Medicago in 2015 for the construction of its plant in Quebec.
The issue had been pending since parent company Mitsubishi Chemical Group announced last week that it was winding down Medicago’s operations.
The Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, confirmed this Monday during an interview with The Canadian Press, while reiterating his intention to do everything possible not to lose the expertise of the pharmaceutical company.
“We lent for the factory. We will be reimbursed, so there is no financial risk. The risk is a risk of [perdre le] talent. This talent, insofar as we can keep it in Quebec, we would be very happy. »
Rejected by WHO
Medicago, whose Quebec plant was never completed, had developed a plant-based vaccine against COVID-19. This vaccine, named Covifenz, had been approved by Health Canada in February 2022, but the World Health Organization (WHO) had subsequently refused its approval for global use because the tobacco company Philip Morris was one of its shareholders.
In the wake of the WHO’s decision, the Japanese company finally announced last Thursday that it had ended the marketing of the product.
Since that date, Minister Fitzgibbon has been repeating that he is looking for a buyer for Medicago, whose laboratory in Quebec represents an extremely important scientific asset.
“There are 350 people, including 200 to 225 researchers working on herbal therapy and vaccines. And there are several products in the pipeline that we call, but to bring that to market, there are still hundreds of millions of dollars to invest,” he explained.
Buyer: Quebec could participate, but not alone
And if Quebec is ready to participate in the effort, it is out of the question to assume it completely, warns the minister.
“We, as a government, cannot be the sole providers to maintain this. That would not be fair to Quebecers.
“On the other hand, if someone raises their hand, says that there is expertise there that we want to continue, we will be partners and the federal government has made the same commitment. »
“We are ready to work with the community to continue the Medicago operation. We have a few months to do it, ”he says.
Pierre Fitzgibbon says he “already had contacts with pharmaceutical companies, universities, perhaps. »
But when asked if he felt any interest as a result of his contacts, the answer is not very encouraging. “There are a few, but we are talking about hundreds of millions…”, he drops, admitting in veiled words that it is not so easy to find such deep pockets.