Evonik, a German chemical company, is developing a new good manufacturing practice (GMP) drug product facility for lipid-based drug delivery in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), Canada.
The site is intended to address growing demand for lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation development and clinical-stage drug product manufacturing.
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Evonik will invest more than C$150m in the project, which is expected to boost the company’s development and manufacturing capacity, while contributing to the expansion of BC’s biotechnology sector.
The facility is projected to create and sustain 260 jobs and support additional global investment in Canada’s life sciences industry, reinforcing BC’s position in the international life sciences landscape.
Drug product manufacturing at the new facility is expected to commence towards the end of 2029.
Location
Evonik’s new drug product manufacturing facility will be located in Vancouver in the BC region.
BC hosts Canada’s fastest-growing life sciences sector, with more than 2,000 companies employing nearly 20,000 people, the majority of whom are based in the Greater Vancouver area.
The region’s biotechnology capabilities are underpinned by the University of British Columbia, which has played a central role over several decades and has been the source of numerous start-ups and spin-off companies.
The new facility is intended to build on the region’s long-standing expertise in lipid-based drug delivery systems, which has been developing since the 1990s.
Evonik drug product manufacturing facility details
Evonik’s new GMP manufacturing plant will be a modern GMP-compliant facility capable of delivering more than triple the manufacturing capacity of the company’s current site for advanced pharmaceutical products, including next-generation messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines and therapeutics.
The new facility will also enhance quality control and microbiological testing capabilities by streamlining operations and enabling products to be released more promptly for clinical application.
In addition, the site is expected to support pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers in advancing lipid-based products from development through to commercial-scale manufacturing.
Financing
Evonik’s drug product manufacturing project is supported by up to C$68m from the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund, a federal programme designed to provide funding for transformative projects across various sectors of the economy.
Details of Evonik’s existing lipid production facilities in Vancouver
Evonik established its presence in Vancouver, Canada for lipid-based drug delivery in 2016 by acquiring Northern Lipids (later renamed Transferra Nanosciences).
The Vancouver site is run by Evonik’s contract development and manufacturing organisation subsidiary, Evonik Vancouver Laboratories. It provides end-to-end services, from early feasibility assessment, development and scale-up to commercial manufacturing of LNP and liposome-based formulations.
The site also specialises in formulation design and process optimisation, in addition to the manufacturing of clinical trial material, while addressing growing demand in newer therapy areas including combination products and immunotherapy programmes.
Additionally, the site produces stock and custom LIPEX® branded lipid formulation manufacturing equipment.
Formulations developed at the site are applied across a broad range of therapeutic areas, including mRNA, small interfering RNA and DNA-based therapies, oncology and immunotherapy, synthetic vaccines, ligand-targeted formulations and imaging contrast agents.
Marketing commentary on Evonik
Headquartered in Essen, Germany, Evonik operates production facilities in 27 countries across six continents.
The company supports pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers globally through an integrated network for lipid and LNP formulation development and manufacturing, with capabilities covering the full value chain.
Evonik Vancouver Laboratories focuses on LNP formulation development and clinical manufacturing, with processes for later-stage clinical trials and commercial production transferred to the company’s facility in Birmingham, Alabama, US.
This network is supported by lipid and adjuvant production at Evonik’s sites in Dossenheim and Hanau in Germany, as well as research and development activities at the Cambridge Innovation Satellite in the Greater Boston area, US. In addition, a new large-scale lipid manufacturing plant is under construction at the Tippecanoe Labs site in Lafayette, Indiana, US.
