Jubilant gets additional loan from Canada Govt for expansion of CMO Montreal facility

Jubilant Pharmova announced that its subsidiary Jubilant HollisterStier, a Canada-based pharma contract manufacturing organisation (CMO), has received approval from the Government of Canada to provide, through its Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) program, a partially repayable loan of CAD 23.8 million to fund the CAD 108 million capacity expansion at the Montreal manufacturing facility.

This loan is in addition to earlier announced CAD 25 million loan committed by the Province of Quebec, for the same expansion project. This expansion project is aimed at upgrading the company’s Montreal facility and to increase its fill and finish capacity by over 100 per cent.

A company statement said, “This expansion project of the ~40,000 sq ft facility will result in world-class sterile manufacturing site, offering a wide range of fill and finish capabilities with flexibility in dose forms and batch sizes. The state of the art technology and equipment will comprise of high-speed vial filling with an isolator barrier system, freeze drying, and a flex line capable of handling syringes, vials, and cartridges.”

Speaking on the announcement, Pramod Yadav, CEO, Jubilant Pharma said, “Jubilant HollisterStier is excited to be chosen as a part of the eco-system being strengthened by Canada to better position the country for its future needs of vaccines and treatments for potential pandemics. This funding will enable our continued efforts to expand our capabilities in Canada and create more jobs.”

“This new agreement is a testament to the contributions made over the last few years by our organisation to respond during current pandemic and future pandemics. Jubilant HollisterStier’s expansion will target large Pharmaceuticals and Biotech companies parenteral products as well as feature a flexible manufacturing platform able to produce multiple forms of vaccines, thus addressing a variety of future health emergencies.” shared Chris Preti, President, Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO), Jubilant HollisterStier.