The Ottawa Hospital's Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre has already played a crucial role in launching more than 15 world-first clinical trials. This new funding will help to harness this success in the global fight against COVID-19.Researchers from The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa have been awarded $1,050,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to support facilities for manufacturing innovative treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.

The funding will support new equipment and infrastructure at The Ottawa Hospital’s Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre (BMC), which has been successfully manufacturing therapies using cells, genes and viruses for clinical trials in Canada and abroad for more than 10 years.

The funding will enhance the BMC’s ability to support a number of projects related to COVID-19, including:

• A clinical trial of a cell-based therapy for severely ill COVID-19 patients. It is hoped that this experimental therapy may be able to dampen an overactive immune response and help repair lung damage in patients with severe COVID-19 infections.
• Antibody-based treatments for high-risk individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19.
• Vaccines for COVID-19, including a home-grown vaccine inspired by research on cancer-fighting viruses.

“Our Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre has already played a crucial role in launching more than 15 world-first clinical trials,” said Dr. Duncan Stewart, Executive Vice-President of Research at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at uOttawa. “This new funding will allow us to harness this success to help in the global fight against COVID-19.”

The funding was announced today by the Canada Foundation for Innovation as part of a national announcement of close to $28 million for infrastructure related to COVID-19 research.

The Ottawa Hospital is able to support core research resources such as the BMC thanks to support from generous donors to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

Research team: Duncan Stewart, John Bell, Carolina Ilkow, David Courtman, Bernard Thébaud

The Ottawa Hospital is one of Canada’s top learning and research hospitals, where excellent care is inspired by research and driven by compassion. As the third-largest employer in Ottawa, our support staff, researchers, nurses, physicians, and volunteers never stop seeking solutions to the most complex health-care challenges. Our multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, attracts some of the most influential scientific minds from around the world. Backed by generous support from the community, we are committed to providing the world-class, compassionate care we would want for our loved ones. www.ohri.ca

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