Biopharmaceuticals

The world’s largest pharmaceutical companies conduct a wide range of operations in Canada, from R&D and manufacturing, to marketing and product development.

“ The development of PRADAX® represents an important milestone in Canadian pharmaceutical history (...) we are proud to say this global program was coordinated out of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. ”
Dr. Theodore Witek, President and CEO, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.

Strong flows of intellectual and innovation capital drive the development of Canada’s life-sciences industry. Incentives and grants from federal, provincial and local governments help ensure well-funded collaborative R&D. In 2010, the sector included three of the top foreign R&D investors in Canada, spending a combined total of nearly $300 million and ranking among the country’s top R&D firms.

Investments in Canada by foreign firms since 2011:

Sanofi Pasteur (France) announced plans to build a $101 million vaccine R&D facility in Toronto.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada (Switzerland) announced that its $40 million global clinical-trials study of cardiovascular disease would be based in Hamilton, Ontario.
Teva (Israel) invested $56 million in its Stouffville, Ontario plant to upgrade and expand production of generic drugs.