BIOVECTRA Inc. to Open New Microbial Fermentation and Complex Chemistry Site in December 2017

$30 million investment increases BIOVECTRA’s total manufacturing capacity by 40%

WINDSOR, Nova Scotia – BIOVECTRA Inc., a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) providing cGMP services to globally operated biotech and pharmaceutical companies, today announced that its fourth cGMP facility will be fully operational by December 2017. The late-stage to commercial-scale microbial fermentation and complex chemistry facility is located in Windsor, Nova Scotia, with proximity and service to Northeast USA development entities.

BIOVECTRA’s $30 million investment has equipped the 50,000 square-foot facility with 40,000 liters (L) of fermentation capacity, downstream processing equipment and new pre-clinical fermentation and potent chemistry suites. “The investment strengthens our unique position in the very competitive global marketplace, enabling us to offer new and existing clients range of scale throughout the entire lifecycle of a product,” said Oliver Technow, BIOVECTRA’s President.

The new facility is an investment in BIOVECTRA’s core development and manufacturing competencies: microbial fermentation and complex chemistries. As an industry leader in microbial fermentation of both small and large molecules, the company provides scalable cGMP operations from 30 L to 17,000 L. BIOVECTRA has the capability to handle the development and cGMP scale-up of high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), handling potent substances such as antibody-drug conjugate warheads, with occupational exposure limit (OEL) levels of < 20 ng/m3 (Safebridge Band 3 and 4).

The new facility increases BIOVECTRA’s ability to partner with global pharmaceutical companies by offering dual-site risk mitigation. “This expansion helps BIOVECTRA keep up with the growing demand for our products, while also meeting an underserved need for large-scale microbial fermentation in North America,” said Heather Delage, Vice President of Business Development. “In addition to the facility’s large-scale fermentation capability, the site also offers a complementary footprint for synthetic process development and laboratory-based activities.”

BIOVECTRA’s three additional cGMP facilities and headquarters are located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Media Contact 
Jordan MacGregor, 902-566-9116 ext. 6376
Communications Manager
[email protected]

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  • 20+ years at GSK, leading R&D activities on multiple vaccine programs
  • Recently held positions in industry include: Senior Director (Function Head), Protein Biochemistry; Director, Antigen Design & Prototype Production; and, Associate Director, Antigen Design and Protein Characterization.
  • Key areas of expertise are:
    • Process development of protein Biologics/Recombinant Antigens
    • Recombinant protein expression (mammalian, insect, yeast, bacterial)
    • Production/design of Viral Vectors, mRNA vaccines, Bacterial outer membrane vesicles
    • Protein Engineering and Structural Biology
    • Defining quality attributes, biophysical characterization of proteins, and analytical strategy
  • Post graduate degrees in Functional Genomics (Université Laval) and Bioinformatics (MIT); M. Sc. Microbiology and Immunology (Laval).
  • 25+ Patent & 5 Scientific Publications

Normand Blais – Senior Director Development & Innovation, Biologics

  • 20+ years at GSK, leading R&D activities on multiple vaccine programs
  • Recently held positions in industry include: Senior Director (Function Head), Protein Biochemistry; Director, Antigen Design & Prototype Production; and, Associate Director, Antigen Design and Protein Characterization.
  • Key areas of expertise are:
    • Process development of protein Biologics/Recombinant Antigens
    • Recombinant protein expression (mammalian, insect, yeast, bacterial)
    • Production/design of Viral Vectors, mRNA vaccines, Bacterial outer membrane vesicles
    • Protein Engineering and Structural Biology
    • Defining quality attributes, biophysical characterization of proteins, and analytical strategy
  • Post graduate degrees in Functional Genomics (Université Laval) and Bioinformatics (MIT); M. Sc. Microbiology and Immunology (Laval).
  • 25+ Patent & 5 Scientific Publications

Oliver Technow - Chief Executive Officer

  • Industry Master Degree from Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce, Frankfurt Germany.
  • More than 20 years of global pharmaceutical industry experience.
  • Held numerous leadership positions in commercial development, marketing and brand management, and lifecycle management and has extensive product launch and market access expertise in Europe and North America.
  • In 1997, joined Eisai GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany and in 2002, was appointed Director, CNS Business Unit; in 2006, was appointed Vice President, Head of Global Marketing for Eisai Inc. in Woodcliff Lake, NJ;  in 2011, was appointed Vice President, Established Products Business Unit; in 2013, was appointed President & General Manager for Eisai Limited in Mississauga, ON.
  • Appointed President of BIOVECTRA Inc., December 10, 2015.
  • Board Director for BIOTECanada
  • Member of the Steering Council of Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC)
  • In 2017, appointed to the Government of Canada’s Health/Bio-sciences Strategic Economic Table
  • In November 2019, promoted to Chief Executive Officer at BIOVECTRA
  • In June 2020, named new Chair of PEI BioAlliance Board of Directors