Feds pledge $23.3M for Vido-intervac research amid pandemic
SASKATOON The federal government has committed a total of $23.3 million in funding for the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization — International Vaccine Centre (Vido-intervac).
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Vido-intervac will receive funding earmarked through the $275-million COVID-19 health research fund. The organization will receive $12 million to help address the nation’s shortage of vaccine manufacturing capacity and $11.3 million for operational funding for high containment laboratories.
Vido-intervac previously received nearly $1 million to expedite work on a COVID -19 vaccine.
The facility, one of the few in the country with regulatory approval to work on COVID -19, was the first in Canada to isolate the virus more than five weeks ago, in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Sunnybrook. The isolated virus was made available to federal and provincial labs.
In a news conference outside 24 Sussex Drive broadcast on CPAC,
Trudeau told reporters during a portion of his speech in French that Canada is lucky to have Canadian innovators who are among the best in the world and who want to be part of the solution.
“We’re investing in a long-term solution to COVID -19, right here at home,” he said.
In a statement, the University of
Saskatchewan said Vido-intervac is building a pilot-scale manufacturing facility on campus to accelerate vaccine development in Canada and abroad.
“The $12 million enables us to build the facility to Good Manufacturing Practices standards as required for human vaccine production,” said VIDO -Intervac director
Volker Gerdts in the statement.
“We expect to begin vaccine production in a little more than a year.”
The lab is the first in the country to develop an animal model for testing. Gerdts told The Starphoenix last week that ferrets are the best species for creating an animal model.
The university said the vaccine was made in February and researchers expect to know in about a month whether it works in an animal model; clinical testing in humans could start as soon as the fall.
In the statement, Gerdts said VIDO -Intervac is part of the national and global response to emerging disease threats such as COVID -19 in humans and African swine fever in animals. Gerdts is part of three World Health Organization expert groups on animal model and vaccine development for COVID -19.
The facility is also testing antivirals and therapeutic medicines made by both Canadian and international companies.
The Saskatchewan government announced last week that it would pledge $400,000 for VIDO -Intervac’s manufacturing facility.