Emergent inks deal to produce Providence vaccine

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This article was published 14/09/2021 (1023 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Providence Therapeutics, the Calgary biotech company that has developed its own mRNA COVID vaccine which is in Phase 2 clinical trials, has signed a partnership with a Chinese pharmaceutical company to distribute the vaccine in China and elsewhere in Asia, that could end up being worth about $500 million.

It also finalized a $114-million five-year arrangement with Emergent BioSolutions Inc. to produce the vaccine in Emergent’s Winnipeg facility.

Although the vaccine is still in Phase 2 trials in Canada, company CEO Brad Sorenson said all indications show it is as effective as other vaccines now in use.

The goal is to sign up 600 participants for the trial but because of the high rate of vaccinations in Canada the company is in the process of taking the trial overseas.

Even though it has not been approved for use by regulatory authorities in any country, production of the vaccine has already begun.

Sorenson said he’s confident that the vaccine is “best in class.” A company release says the trials to date have demonstrated that it is generally safe and all subjects produced neutralizing antibodies after the first dose and the levels increased more than tenfold after the second dose with high resistance against current variants of concern including the delta variant that compare favourably to currently approved mRNA vaccines.

In February, former premier Brian Pallister made a surprising $7.2-million commitment to secure two million doses of the Providence vaccine. That commitment has still not been finalized, nor has any payment been made.

Sorenson said that even though a term sheet was agreed to several months ago, an agreement has never been formalized.

But he said, “It is not that we are not interested in Manitoba. Things kind of stalled during the fourth wave. Then coming out of that things seems a bit stalled. Then Mr. Pallister resigned. I suspect we got caught up in a bigger storm.”

Premier Kelvin Goertzen said in a prepared statement, “The Manitoba government continues to work with Providence Therapeutics to determine the best way forward to support their efforts to conclude clinical trials and seek approval from Health Canada. We are also working with Providence to establish production in Manitoba and secure supply to support Manitoba’s future vaccine needs.”

Regardless whether the province ends up buying the vaccine, the official deal with Emergent will have an economic impact for the province. The company already employs about 350 people in Winnipeg and a company official said they anticipate needing to hire additional employees as production ramps up. The company said the arrangement with Providence calls for Emergent to “manufacture tens of millions of doses” in 2022.

Emergent’s production facility in Bayview, Md., where the company is headquartered, has already produced around 75 million doses of both the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines.

But earlier this year it ran into a contamination issue and was forced to dispose of millions of doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

A company spokesman said, “Since production was paused at Bayview, Emergent has worked closely with FDA and J&J to address quality concerns including developing and executing an action plan and committing extensive resources to areas of concern that were identified. Emergent expects to continue to work with FDA throughout the manufacturing process to help ensure the strength of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine supply chain.”

Sorenson, who has been at odds with the Canadian government over its reluctance to support his vaccine development, said the arrangement with the Shanghai-based company, Everest Medicines Ltd., is a fantastic development for Providence.

Among other things, Sorenson said his company has been committed to getting vaccines distributed throughout the world where it is most needed. The Everest arrangement allows it to license the rights to Providence’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in China, Southeast Asia and Pakistan.

Asked if there was any trepidation on entering into such a partnership with a Chinese company at a time when trading relations with that country are fraught, Sorenson said, “We got a half million dollars. We weren’t getting anything from the government of Canada. This is an example of things working properly — a company in China is paying fair price for access to technology This is a success story.”

The agreement also gives Everest access to further pharmaceutical developments at Providence in exchange for up to 12 per cent of the shares of Everest.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca