UK and Canada collaborate to strengthen biomanufacturing

The governments of Canada and the United Kingdom have selected and announced the first round of projects that will be funded under the Canada-UK Biomanufacturing Collaboration that was launched in 2023. The two countries established the Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy (BLSS), with £10 million ($12.7 million) contributed from the UK and $16 million from Canada.

A representative of the Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) Canada told BioProcess Insider that the “collaboration recognizes that both countries support the strategic and sustainable development of their life sciences and biomanufacturing sectors, including through international cooperation with peers in areas of mutual interest.” They added that the “shared vision facilitated discussion between the countries and ultimately the formalization of the collaboration.”

“Canada sees this as an opportunity to support each country’s unique and complementary strengths, which can be leveraged to catalyze innovation and growth and strengthen an already resilient and diversified global partnership.”

The partnership supports both countries' ability to prepare for and respond to health emergencies, such as future pandemics. “Under the collaboration, Canada and the UK commit to jointly support the development of critical products and innovation that each country will need to respond to the next health emergency – through policy dialogue, cooperation in areas of strategic importance, business-led collaborative research and development, and business growth and scaling support.”

The representative praised the UK as a valuable partner for Canada thanks to its strong academic sector, clinical trial and manufacturing infrastructure, investor community, and pharmaceutical research expertise.  

After the first call for proposals that began in August 2023, six projects were selected for funding out of 16 applications submitted by consortiums small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) based in Canada and UK-based businesses. The Canadian government will contribute approximately $3.4 million to fund the selected projects.

A representative of the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada told BioProcess International that applications were evaluated separately by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) according to national policies, regulations, and laws, after which time joint project selection was performed. “Each proposed project was evaluated on an individual basis through a due diligence process, and assessments were done against eligibility criteria.”

The representative told us that NRC IRAP will provide advisory services and funding up to the specified amount for each of the following projects:

• $853,470.00 to iProgen Biotech Inc. in Burnaby, British Columbia, for a project with BiologIC Technologies Ltd. in Fordham, UK, to develop a new biomanufacturing device that integrates microfluidics and artificial intelligence to simplify the biotherapeutic production process, significantly accelerating production, minimizing waste, and enhancing both quality and accessibility

• $821,314 to Future Fields Cellular Agriculture and Research Ltd. in Edmonton, Alberta, for a project with Unicorn Biotechnologies in Sheffield, UK, to develop a platform capable of manufacturing proteins (such as vaccines) in a rapid and flexible manner to help pivot and scale-up manufacturing capabilities

• $678,000 to ProteinQure Inc. in Toronto, Ontario, for a project with Orbit Discovery Ltd. In Oxford, UK, to develop a new peptide discovery platform and therapeutic molecules utilizing artificial intelligence

• $448,000 to NanoVation Therapeutics in Vancouver, British Columbia, for a project with Exogene Ltd. in Oxford, UK, to develop a drug delivery system to enable breakthroughs in the eradication of otherwise untreatable solid tumors

• $320,600 to VVector Bio in Montréal, Quebec, for a project with Horizon Discovery Limited in Waterbeach, UK, and HexagonFab Ltd. in Cambridge, UK, to develop a next-generation advanced manufacturing platform able to produce 50-100x higher viral vector yields than current manufacturing platforms available.

• $304,720 to Virica Biotech Inc. in Ottawa, Ontario, for a project with eXmoor pharma concepts Ltd. in Patchway, UK, to develop single/multi-compound formulations to help facilitate an increased production of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to enhance production of vaccines or therapeutics for future pandemics.