Trudeau announces $20M for new cell regeneration research facility

The federal government will provide $20 million to theCentre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine to help
establish a stem-cell therapy development facility in Toronto.

The Centre for Advanced Therapeutic Cell Technologies will be thefirst such facility in the world to use a collaborative approachbetween research institutions and industry to solve cell therapymanufacturing challenges, the government said.

"Regenerative medicine is the future and not only is it thefuture, it's a branch of medicine that Canada and the province ofOntario are actually quite good at," said Prime Minister JustinTrudeau."The medical advances and innovations happening right here inToronto are world class."

Trudeau made the announcement this morningon an empty floor of theMaRS tower in downtown Toronto, designed for medical and researchlabs, where the stem cell facility will be located.

The MaRS tower has been a source of controversy for theprovincial Liberal government.

The province loaned MaRS $225 million for its second officertower, then later provided an $86-million line of credit to helpattract tenants, and spent $65 million buying out an American realestate company's interest in the project.

The opposition has been critical of the provincial Liberals forgranting the loan without a proper business case.

The MaRS tower once sat nearly empty, with high rents demanded bythe U.S. real estate company, but now a spokeswoman for the ministerof infrastructure says MaRS has leased 84 per cent of the availablespace.

Ontario provided seed funding for the Centre for theCommercialization of Regenerative Medicine.

The stem cell facility has a total cost of $43.8 million, withfunding also coming from GE Healthcare. The federal money will beprovided once certain terms and conditions are met, the governmentsaid.

That money will be used to "support improvements to the newfacility and the purchase of specialized equipment."

Trudeau is on a quick trip to Toronto that includes a meetingwith Mayor John Tory.