OmniaBio Inc., a subsidiary of CCRM, is the first project to be funded under the Invest Ontario Fund. Subject to reaching a definitive agreement, OmniaBio Inc. will be the recipient of a loan of up to $40 million from the Government of Ontario, funding that will kickstart the construction of a 250,000 square foot (23,225 square meter) contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for cell and gene therapies (CGTs)—the largest facility of its kind in Canada.

“We are grateful to the Government of Ontario, through Invest Ontario, for helping to support this important initiative that will create hundreds of direct jobs and provide the infrastructure so that potentially life-saving cell and gene therapies can be manufactured domestically,” said Michael May, president and CEO, CCRM.

Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, said, “As the first facility of its kind to provide commercial-scale cell and gene therapy manufacturing in Canada, OmniaBio will support our pipeline of homegrown life sciences companies, while boosting Ontario’s presence in the global biotech industry. This is the kind of value-added, strategic investment that our government is proud to champion—creating skilled jobs, advancing our healthcare and driving innovation.”

The facility, part of a biomanufacturing center of excellence being built at McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton, Ontario, will leverage CCRM’s existing capabilities by providing pivotal/Phase III and commercial-scale manufacturing of gene-modified cell therapies and viral vectors, compliant with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards, with the flexibility to pivot to other advanced therapies in emergencies. It will feature GMP workforce training capabilities on-site through the Canadian Advanced Therapies Training Institute (CATTI)—a partnership between CCRM and Montreal-based CellCAN.

Mitchel Sivilotti, CEO, OmniaBio, said, “OmniaBio will be the anchor tenant of a biomanufacturing center of excellence and life sciences ecosystem being built at McMaster Innovation Park, and we’re thrilled to be the catalyst that will attract therapy developers, supply chain and related companies to the Hamilton area. This is a great news story for Ontario but also for the industry.”

Ty Shattuck, CEO, McMaster Innovation Park, said, “We are delighted to have OmniaBio make MIP its home. This facility will enable an ecosystem by leveraging Hamilton’s historic strength in manufacturing along with its emerging prowess in life sciences. But this is about more than Hamilton; this is about providing life sciences ventures from across Ontario a place to scale, grow and compete on a global stage.”