Alberta exploring vaccine production

The Alberta government is asking for proposals on domestic vaccine manufacturing, a way to explore the potential for a future vaccine market in the province.

Doug Schweitzer, the minister of jobs, economy and innovation, told the National Post in an interview that there could be promising projects that emerge from this process — and government money to help pay for it.

“This allows us to have a full lay of the land,” said Schweitzer. “(The pandemic) has really brought to light the fact that we have to keep Albertans healthy, we have to keep them safe, and we need for our economy to open. And to do that, health, security and making sure that we have domestic supply of vaccines and other pharmaceuticals is an important part of our strategy going forward.”

There are a number of factors to consider, Schweitzer said, including trade agreements, how many organizations might have an interest and where the government might put some money. At this point, there's no specific funding available, but the province's 2021 budget set aside $1.25 billion in pandemic-related spending, which could be a source of the funds.

Alberta faces not just the economic and social effects of COVID-19, but also the impact the pandemic has had internationally on oil and gas prices, which in turn affects the province's largest industry and a significant proportion of its tax base.

Economic diversification, and getting out of the pandemic, are the top priorities for the province's governing United Conservatives, as well as opposition New Democrats.

Improving domestic vaccine manufacturing fits the bill of creating an Alberta industry and securing, at least partially, a more stable domestic supply.

Schweitzer said there's the question of whether or not COVID variants will necessitate booster shots.

“We don't know if another type of pandemic could evolve in our lifetime, hopefully it doesn't ... but we need to make sure we're ready for this.”

Alberta already has some leading vaccine research, such as the work being done at the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology at the University of Alberta.

Others, such as Providence Therapeutics, a Calgary biotechnology firm, and Northern RNA, another Calgary company, are working on vaccine products.

“Alberta has the building blocks to actually build out a legitimate, credible pharmaceutical industry and vaccine development industry, all the way from development to production,” said Schweitzer.