Quebec vaccine maker Medicago to relaunch under new agreement

Health Canada has approved Medicago, a Canadian-made COVID-19 vaccine.

The federal government says it has recovered $40 million from the now-defunct Quebec-based vaccine developer Medicago, and the intellectual property will remain in Canada under a new firm.

The government provided Medicago a $173-million advance in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to develop and produce a plant-based vaccine in Quebec City.

The company's Japanese parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical Group, shut down Medicago's operations in February as global demand for vaccinations plummeted.

Though Medicago's vaccine was approved for use in Canada, it was not approved by the World Health Organization due to the company's ties with tobacco giant Philip Morris.

The agreement between Canada and Mitsubishi Chemical Group will transfer the research, intellectual property and equipment to a new operation: Aramis Biotechnologies.

Aramis Biotechnologies is also based in Quebec City and is led by former Medicago employees.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2023.