Since 2006, The Ottawa Hospital’s Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre (BMC) has manufactured more than 20 different kinds biotherapeutics for human clinical trials in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia.Biotherapeutics have enormous potential to improve health and save lives and Ontario has the potential to lead the way in manufacturing these innovative therapies.
“By incorporating biological materials such as cells, genes and viruses, biotherapeutics can target the root cause of disease as opposed to just the symptoms,” explained Dr. Duncan Stewart, senior scientist in regenerative medicine and Executive Vice-President of Research at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa. “These therapies are the future of medicine.”
Over the last five years, there has been an unprecedented surge in demand for biotherapeutics and biomanufacturing to produce innovative treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disease and other conditions. The need for COVID-19 vaccines put even more pressure on the biomanufacturing system, but the demand predates the pandemic.
Since 2006, The Ottawa Hospital’s Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre (BMC) has manufactured more than 20 different kinds biotherapeutics for human clinical trials in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia.
“Our centre is the most experienced and successful of its kind in Canada, and we fill a critical gap in Ontario’s life sciences ecosystem,” said Dr. Stewart.
With eight manufacturing suites and more than 40 full-time staff, BMC offers a full range of services to both academic and corporate partners, including process development, manufacturing and fill-finish, all done according to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards.
BMC also leads the first hands-on training program in Canada in biotherapeutics manufacturing, called CanPRIME, in partnership with the University of Ottawa, Algonquin College, Carleton University, Mitacs and BioCanRx.
BMC is also playing a key role in the new Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Hub (CP2H). Co-led by uOttawa (in partnership with The Ottawa Hospital) and McMaster University, CP2H is one of the five hubs funded through the integrated Canada Biomedical Research Fund (CBRF) and Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund (BRIF). Together, these five hubs will shepherd distribution of more than $500M to enable biotherapeutics research, development and manufacturing.
"In the realm of innovation, the convergence of biomedical, bio manufacturing, and bio innovation serves as the triple helix propelling us towards an era of improved health and well-being for all. Our success and prosperity hinge on nurturing a resilient health care and life sciences sector," said Sylvain Charbonneau, Vice President of Research and Innovation at the University of Ottawa and Co-Executive Board Chair of CP2H. "By synergizing the collective strength of our partnerships and expertise, we are poised to propel the innovations that will shape the future of healthcare and life sciences in Ontario."
