Innovation Profile: sanofi pasteur in Canada
In April 2008, sanofi pasteur announced a $100 million investment to build a new research and development facility at their Connaught Campus in Toronto. With $13.9 million in support from the Government of Ontario's Biopharmaceutical Investment Program, the planned state-of-the-art facility will house new, specialized R&D equipment and support high-value jobs. Read full profile below.
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Mark Lievonen | Dr Jim Tartaglia VP Program and Project Leadership and VP R&D, sanofi pasteur in Canada |
Investing to Grow Vaccine R&D in the Toronto Region
In April 2008, sanofi pasteur announced a $100 million investment to build a new research and development facility in Toronto, Ontario. With $13.9 million from the Government of Ontario's Biopharmaceutical Investment Program, the state-of-the-art facility will house new, specialized R&D equipment and create high-value jobs.
"The government said they would work at the speed of business to make this investment possible and I'm very pleased to say that's exactly what happened," says Mark Lievonen, President of sanofi pasteur in Canada.
Of the current 1,100 employees at the Connaught Campus, 300 are involved in R&D and 600 in advanced manufacturing. It is 1 of only 3 sanofi pasteur locations worldwide where more than 15 per cent of the total staff is dedicated to R&D.
"We're 1 of only 2 research centres for sanofi pasteur. We're also 1 of only 3 process development centres," says Mr Lievonen. "We have a number of global R&D and manufacturing mandates and a long history of contributing to public health in Canada and around the world."
Originally part of the University of Toronto, the Connaught Research Laboratories were founded in 1914 by Dr John Fitzgerald. Under his leadership, diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins were produced. The Connaught Research Labs also helped to commercialize insulin, produce the polio vaccine and eradicate small pox. More recently, researchers here developed a very successful whooping cough vaccine and, today, are working on improvements to existing vaccines and the discovery of new vaccines against targets such as cancer and HIV.
"We're fully engaged at all levels of vaccine research and development from the discovery phase through to the licensor phase," says Dr Jim Tartaglia, VP Program and Project Leadership and VP, R&D Canada.
This thriving R&D campus is located in the middle of North America's third largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology cluster with more than 700 firms, 140,000 employees and $4 billion in annual revenue.
Supporting this cluster are over 60 hospitals, 37 medical institutions, 8,200 physicians and 54,000 health professionals. The University of Toronto and McMaster University medical schools together have 12 associated research hospitals and The University of Toronto medical school ranks third in the world for research publication citations.
"Toronto is one of the key hubs of immunology worldwide. There are many good investigators conducting both basic and clinical research in human immunology. Bringing their research together with our research helps us to better understand how to develop the vaccines of the future," says Dr Tartaglia.
For sanofi pasteur's highly-skilled talent, Toronto offers both professional and personal benefits. Recognized by Mercer as one of the best places in the world to live, Toronto contains hundreds of kilometres of waterfront and cycling paths and is home to North America's largest urban park.
"When people come to live here, they love it. They really enjoy the diversity and the exceptional quality of life," says Mr Lievonen.
View June 4, 2009 University of Toronto release re. new sanofi pasteur Chair in Human Immonology.
© 2011 Toronto Region Research Alliance