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Mitsubishi Chemical pulls plug on Quebec-based vaccine-maker Medicago

Quebec Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon said it would work with "the federal government and Mitsubishi to find a new buyer."

A vial of a plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by Medicago, is shown in Quebec City on Monday, July 13, 2020 as part of the company's Phase 1 clinical trials in this handout photo.
A vial of a plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by Medicago, is shown in Quebec City on Monday, July 13, 2020 as part of the company's Phase 1 clinical trials in this handout photo. Photo by MEDICAGO /Toronto Sun

The parent company of Medicago, the Quebec City-based biopharmaceutical firm that developed a vaccine against COVID-19, announced on Thursday that the company will cease activities.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Chemical said in a statement that it will not continue with the marketing of the Covifenz vaccine, approved by Health Canada in February 2022 for use by adults up to age 64.

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“Since (that authorization), the company had been preparing to transition to commercial production,” Mitsubishi Chemical wrote. “However, in view of the significant changes that have taken place in the COVID-19 scene since the authorization of Covifenz and following a comprehensive analysis of the current global demand, the economic context regarding COVID-19 vaccines and the challenges Medicago is facing in its transition to commercial production, (Mitsubishi) has decided not to pursue commercialization.”

Mitsubishi Chemical said it is not viable to continue to invest in the commercialization of products under development by Medicago, saying it has “therefore chosen to terminate all of its activities with Medicago and to proceed with an orderly dissolution of its business affairs and activities.”

The Quebec government was quick to react to the announcement. The office of provincial Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon said it would work with “the federal government and Mitsubishi to find a new buyer.”

“The technology developed by Medicago is important in the sector of life sciences and we will work with our partners to keep that expertise and those workers in Quebec,” the minister’s office said in a statement issued Thursday night.

The statement noted also that the loan issued to Medicago will be repaid. In May 2015, Quebec and Ottawa announced respective loans of $60 million and $8 million for the construction of a complex in Quebec City housing the company’s head office and research facility.

Quebec City’s municipal contribution was $6.5 million. Mayor Bruno Marchand said Thursday he was saddened by the news.

“My thoughts are with the families who learned this sad news today,” he wrote on Twitter. “We have to roll up our sleeves to keep, in Quebec City, all this expertise in the realm of health innovation. Absolutely!”

Last May, the World Health Organization rejected Medicago’s vaccine, basing its decision on the fact the Philip Morris cigarette company was a shareholder in the firm.

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