Several factors have tipped the balance towards Montreal in order to attract the American pharmaceutical company Moderna, even the French-speaking character of the metropolis.
Prime Minister François Legault did not fail to underline this by specifying that the boss of the company Stéphane Bancel is from Marseille, which brings a natural proximity to Montreal.
“I’m sure it makes him happy to come and spend some time in Quebec, in French,” said Mr. Legault.
“As a francophone and an admirer of Canada and Quebec, it is always a great pleasure for me to visit this truly magical place,” said Mr. Bancel in response.
deep ties
Later in interview with The newspaperthe main interested party admitted that the fact that the metropolis is French-speaking was an element of heart.
“It was a little extra, because we are a company, so we have well-defined criteria, economic, etc. But it is true that it is a region to which I am attached, me, personally, being French”, affirmed Mr. Bancel.
The links between the company from Massachusetts and Montreal are numerous. Moderna’s chairman of the board, Noubar Afeyan, is Canadian and studied at McGill University.
Strong life sciences sector
As for the more rational elements, Montreal had all the cards in hand to be able to court the pharmaceutical industry. Quebec has a strong life sciences sector – with four faculties of medicine – which concentrates 50% of research in Canada.
“There is a very strong academic fabric in Montreal. We want to open a network that allows for collaboration, particularly with McGill,” said Mr. Bancel.
Mr. Legault also believes that the rapprochement between universities and businesses can be beneficial in certain cases, recalling a trip to Stockholm in Sweden when he was a PQ minister.
“I had asked them how you manage to bring together the University of Stockholm and the companies […]. Aren’t you being accused of putting universities at the service of bad companies? The answer had been clear. It’s been settled in Sweden for 25 years. Everyone understood that putting these players together creates wealth,” he said.
The boss of Moderna also believes that Montreal might become a major player in the life sciences sector.
“It’s not one of the top four or five places in the world, but there’s everything to get there. There is great scientific and academic potential, but also hospital potential,” concluded Mr. Bancel.
A victory for Quebec
Photo Chantal Poirier
Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna
Ottawa and Quebec formalized Friday morning the construction in Montreal of the Moderna plant, the only one outside the United States, a victory for Quebec, launched, triumphantly, the Prime Minister, François Legault.
American pharmaceuticals were also courted by Ontario, but it was the offer from Quebec that seemed more appealing.
“I am pleased to say that Quebec has won the battle for the Moderna plant,” said Mr. Legault.
The details of the agreement have not yet been released, but Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon said they will be made public soon.
Factory and Center of Excellence
Officially, the investment is valued at $180 million, but over the next few months, this figure will be much higher, a government source told us.
Moderna will set up a “center of excellence” and a factory where it will produce 30 million doses of RNA vaccines initially, increasing to up to 100 million doses per year once the project has reached maturity. The CEO spoke of a ten-year “strategic agreement”.
Construction of the plant is expected to be completed in 2024 and 200 to 300 people are expected to work there. His whereregardings have still not been revealed.
The current pandemic has highlighted Canada’s vulnerability during such events. The federal government therefore wanted to have more control over vaccine production and be less dependent on other countries.
“Whether once morest COVID-19 or other diseases, vaccines save lives. It is important to have state-of-the-art facilities and production capacity,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
-With the collaboration of Raphaël Pirro, QMI Agency
