Moderna vaccines made at new Montreal-area plant will first go to Canadians, says CEO

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Moderna co-founder Noubar Afeyan unveil a picture at the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Moderna vaccine production facility Monday, November 7, 2022 in Laval, Quebec.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

The vaccine doses that will be produced in Moderna's new plant in Laval, Que., will go first to Canadians, the pharmaceutical company said.

At a news conference held Wednesday in Montreal, Moderna Canada President and CEO Patricia Gauthier confirmed that even if the plant aims to reach beyond Canada's borders, the population will benefit from an "assured supply" in the event of a future pandemic for treatments against respiratory diseases.

"From a manufacturing point of view, it is clear that what we are building here in Canada and in the Greater Montreal Area is to serve the Canadian population first. After that, we can see how we can optimize everything to contribute on a global scale as well," she said during a panel discussion with Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

• READ MORE: Feds hold groundbreaking ceremony for Moderna's mRNA vaccine factory in Montreal area

Gauthier said she was "very proud" of the buzz her proposal for a plant in Canada has generated, noting that seven provinces had expressed interest in a possible construction project during the selection process.

Asked about the $25 million in subsidies put forward by the François Legault government, the lawyer by training said that economics was "not the only decisive criterion" that tipped the scales.

"It was really a combination of the components of the proposal and the ease of collaboration. We're already established with [McGill University] and we have discussions with the Université de Montréal, and the life sciences pool is very strong in Quebec," she said in an interview.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 16, 2022.