CEO of Canadian drug company says Ottawa has approached him about his firm's made-in-Canada vaccine - Action News
Home WebMail Friday, November 22, 2024, 07:54 PM | Calgary | -11.4°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
PoliticsVideo

CEO of Canadian drug company says Ottawa has approached him about his firm's made-in-Canada vaccine

Providence Therapeutics CEO Brad Sorenson says he has been approached by a number of provincial premiers and the federal government about his companys made-in-Canada vaccine.

Brad Sorenson of Calgary-based Providence Therapeutics says he's also heard from a number of premiers

Providence Therapeutics CEO says he's meeting with Industry minister Saturday

4 years ago
Duration 2:49
Providence Therapeutics CEO Brad Sorenson speaks to Power & Politics after striking a deal for the company's vaccines with the Manitoba government.

Providence Therapeutics CEO Brad Sorenson says he has been approached by a number of provincial premiers and the federal government about his company's made-in-Canada vaccine.

Last month, the Calgary-based company started human trials for its coronavirus vaccine candidate.

Sorensontold CBC NewsNetwork's Power & Politics that thisis the first time a COVID-19 vaccine designed and manufactured in Canada has begun trials.

Human clinical trials have begun in Toronto for a proposed COVID-19 vaccine by Calgary-based Providence Therapeutics. CEO Brad Sorenson says he has been approached by the federal government about the made-in-Canada vaccine. A medication vial is shown in this undated handout image provided by the company. (Providence Therapeutics/The Canadian Press)

The office of Science and Industry Minister Franois-Philippe Champagneapproached Providence Therapeuticsabout theCanadian-made coronavirus vaccine, Sorensontold Power & Politics guest host Catherine Cullen.

"We've heard from a number of premiers, and I'm happy to report that I was approached by Minister Champagne's office to have a discussion with him tomorrow," he said.

In recent weeks, the federal government has faced questions over Canada's lack of domestic capabilities to produce vaccines as the country'ssupply faces delays and shortages from foreignmanufacturers.

In a separateinterview last month,Sorenson told host Vassy Kapelos that he has tried to contact the federal government about producing vaccines domestically.

Hoping for a dialogue

"We tried extremely aggressively to try and get the attention of the government for the first half of 2020, really with not much success," he said.

Sorenson now wants to use his scheduled meeting with Minister Champagne to advocate for his company's efforts to produce vaccines on Canadian soil.

"I just hope that we're able to have a dialogue and that he's interested in actually learning about the capacity that we have in Canada and learning about our program," he said.

Earlier this week, Manitoba struck a deal with Providence Therapeutics to buy two million doses of its coronavirus vaccine, bypassing the federal government's vaccine procurement efforts.