October 6, 2022 (Hamilton, ON) – OmniaBio Inc., a commercial-stage contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on cell and gene therapies (CGTs), has broken ground at McMaster Innovation Park (MIP). The CDMO, a subsidiary of Toronto-based CCRM, is expected to be the largest facility of its kind in Canada and will catalyze life sciences jobs and innovation in Ontario while advancing pioneering medicine. Investors Medipost and Invest Ontario joined CCRM, OmniaBio and MIP to recognize the occasion.
“CCRM has been looking forward to this day for a long time,” says Michael May, President and CEO of CCRM. “If Canada can establish biomanufacturing capabilities for cell and gene therapies it can be a leader in this thriving and important field of medicine. With today’s event, we are putting Ontario on the map as a destination for Canadian and global companies to manufacture their products here and we are inviting others in the supply chain to come to Hamilton.”
Agreeing with this sentiment, Mitchel Sivilotti, CEO of OmniaBio, adds: “This is a milestone moment for all those who have supported OmniaBio. Two years from now we will have the first of two buildings built and hundreds of highly trained personnel enabling and supporting our customers as we produce the cells and viral vectors necessary for life-altering treatments. It’s very exciting to see Ontario and Canada playing such a leadership role in this fast-paced and evolving field of medicine.”
Only two years ago, CCRM and MIP announced their intention to build and operate a biomanufacturing campus. Sixteen months later, CCRM announced it had secured a loan of $40 million from Invest Ontario to kickstart construction of the first building for OmniaBio and a portion of a second one, totalling 250,000 ft2 (23,225 m2).
Two months after that, in May 2022, OmniaBio announced it had executed a strategic agreement with Medipost valued at $60 million. Today, representatives from the five organizations were on hand for a ground-breaking ceremony followed by a signing ceremony between CCRM, OmniaBio and Medipost. The signing event took place in the Atrium at MIP, before the assembled guests.
In congratulating CCRM and OmniaBio, Ty J. Shattuck, CEO of MIP adds, “This is a significant step towards establishing a production-scale biomanufacturing campus in Hamilton and a stepping stone to the global hub envisioned for Ontario.”
OmniaBio will complete CCRM’s continuum of process development, clinical and commercial capabilities, building on the work that takes place at CCRM’s Centre for Cell and Vector Production (CCVP), in partnership with University Health Network, located at the MaRS Centre in Toronto’s Discovery District. CCVP is a cGMP-compliant facility for Phase I/II in-human clinical trials. OmniaBio will enable pivotal/Phase III and commercial-scale manufacturing for CGTs.
About CCRM
CCRM is a global, public-private partnership headquartered in Canada. It receives funding from the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, and leading academic and industry partners. CCRM supports the development of regenerative medicines and associated enabling technologies, with a specific focus on cell and gene therapy. A network of researchers, leading companies, investors and entrepreneurs, CCRM accelerates the translation of scientific discovery into new companies and marketable products for patients, with specialized teams, dedicated funding, and unique infrastructure. In 2022, CCRM established OmniaBio Inc., a commercial-stage CDMO for manufacturing gene-modified cells and viral vectors for cell and gene therapies. CCRM is the commercialization partner of the University of Toronto’s Medicine by Design. CCRM is hosted by the University of Toronto. Visit us at ccrm.ca.
For more information, please contact:
Stacey Johnson
VP Communications and Marketing
CCRM and OmniaBio
stacey.johnson@ccrm.ca
647-309-1830
