The parent company of Medicago announces the cessation of activities of the Quebec biopharmaceutical which had developed a vaccine against COVID-19.
The Japanese chemical group Mitsubishi Chemical said in a press release on Thursday that it had decided not to continue marketing the Covifenz vaccine, approved by Health Canada in February 2022 for adults aged 18 to 64.
“Since (the clearance in Canada), the company has been preparing to transition to commercial production,” the group said. However, in view of the significant changes that have taken place in the COVID-19 vaccine scene since the authorization of Covifenz and following a comprehensive analysis of the current global demand, the economic context in this regarding COVID-19 vaccines and the challenges Medicago is facing in its transition to commercial production, the group has decided not to pursue commercialization. »
Mitsubishi Chemical also judged that it was not “viable” to continue to invest in the commercialization of Medicago’s development products.
“(The group) has therefore chosen to end all its activities with Medicago and to proceed with an orderly dissolution of its business affairs and activities,” it is claimed.
The political class was quick to react to the parent company’s announcement. The office of Quebec Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, said it was working “with the federal government and Mitsubishi to find a buyer”.
“The technology developed by Medicago is important for the life sciences sector and we will work with our partners to keep the expertise and the workers in Quebec,” said the minister’s press secretary in a written statement Thursday evening. .
He specified that the loan granted to Medicago will be repaid. In May 2015, Quebec and Ottawa announced the allocation of loans of $60 million and $8 million, respectively, for the construction of a complex, located in the Capitale-Nationale region, bringing together the company’s head office, its research and development activities, as well as a pilot plant and a commercial plant for the production of vaccine doses.
The City of Quebec’s contribution to the project was $6.5 million. Mayor Bruno Marchand said it was a shame to see “a flagship that flies away”.
“My thoughts are with the families who learned some very sad news today. We have to roll up our sleeves to keep all this expertise in the field of health innovation in Quebec. Absolutely ! “, he commented in a tweet on Twitter.
Last May, the World Health Organization rejected the Quebec biopharmaceutical vaccine against COVID-19, which uses plants in its manufacturing process. The reason for the refusal was the presence of tobacco company Philip Morris as a minority shareholder in the company, a decision linked to a policy of the UN agency adopted in 2005.