VANCOUVER — The development of a state-of-the-art biotech manufacturing facility in B.C’s Lower Mainland is getting a funding boost from the provincial and federal governments.
In an April media release, Navdeep Bains, the federal minister of innovation, science and economic development, and Bruce Ralston, British Columbia’s minister of jobs, trade and technology, announced a combined investment of $45 million in biotechnology company STEMCELL Technologies. The federal government and the province will each contribute $22.5 million.
The funding is part of an overall investment in the development of regenerative medicine products, which involves using cells from healthy tissue to repair damaged tissues or organs, explains the release.
STEMCELL Technologies expects to consolidate their three Vancouver locations into a $138-million manufacturing facility in Burnaby, B.C. by 2022.
The development will create 675 B.C. jobs by 2022, and up to 2,170 by 2031.
“This funding provides our company with the ability to add hundreds of new high-paying jobs in B.C. to support global research leading to the therapies of the future,” said Dr. Allen Eaves, founder and CEO of STEMCELL Technologies, in the release.
“It also means that we can contribute to the next generation of landmark treatments and ensure that this coming wave of stem cell therapies is stamped with the Canadian maple leaf. We are proud to be an example of the sort of growth and innovation that can be accomplished when high-tech companies partner with forward-thinking governments.”
This is how it works with the Liberal Party. You “donate” more than $7,000; and the Liberal governments “invest” $42M of taxpayer earned money in return.