'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
After 24 years in operation, a Quebec-based drug manufacturer that produced a Canadian COVID-19 vaccine and other plant-based drugs is closing.
Parent company Mitsubishi Chemical Group announced on Thursday it plans to shut down Medicago Inc., headquartered in Quebec City, "in due course, in accordance with local laws and regulations."
Medicago, which began operating in Quebec in 1999, describes itself as "one of few" manufacturers in the world with the capability to develop both vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments, which are used to prevent and treat a broad range of diseases, including cancers, Crohn's disease, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and COVID-19.
Last year, Health Canada approved Medicago's plant-based COVID-19 vaccine, Covifenz, for adults aged 18 to 64. The vaccine was meant to be administered in two doses, and clinical trials showed it was 71 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 infection beginning one week after the second dose.
In October 2020, before the vaccine was approved, the federal government penned a deal to buy up to 76 million doses of the drug, in addition to providing $173 million in funding to support the vaccine's development and the construction of a new Quebec City manufacturing plant.
Medicago had been preparing to launch commercial-scale production of the vaccine, but its parent company announced Friday it would cease all of its operations, citing changes to the COVID-19 vaccine landscape, global demand for COVID-19 vaccines ,and "Medicago’s challenges in transitioning to commercial-scale production."
"The group judged that it was not viable to continue to make further investment in the commercialization of Medicago’s development products, and decided to cease all of its operations at Medicago and proceed with an orderly wind up of its business and operations," according to a statement published on Mitsubishi Chemical Group's website Thursday.
In a post to Twitter on Thursday, Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand called the closure a "huge pity."
"My thoughts are with the families who learned some very sad news today," he wrote in French. "We have to roll up our sleeves to keep all this expertise in the field of health innovation in Quebec."
With files from The Canadian Press
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
The Edmonton Oilers will start Calvin Pickard in net Tuesday for Game 4 of their playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.