University of Manitoba to receive 'groundbreaking' funding for vaccine, bioproduction research – Winnipeg

The University of Manitoba is partnering with the universities of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Calgary to conduct vaccine and biomanufacturing research, as well as building two research facilities in Winnipeg, with a combined $57 million.

Funding was provided by the Government of Canada and includes investments from the Canada Biomedical Research Foundation and the Canada Innovation Foundation's Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund.

Annemieke Fahrenhorst, vice-president of research, said the funding will enable future research that will benefit not only Manitobans, but Canadians from coast to coast.

“This groundbreaking investment will strengthen our ability to provide research solutions to society's most pressing challenges and overcome future pandemic threats,” said Fahrenhorst. “This will enable our research community to develop next-generation vaccines and improve biomanufacturing solutions – from basic research to pre-clinical trials – to accelerate innovation that benefits Manitobans and Canadians.”

Of the $57 million, $29 million will be spent on the construction of two research facilities. The Prairie Biologics Accelerator, a 21,000-square-foot state-of-the-art biosecure facility located on the Fort Harry campus, enhances laboratory capabilities for preclinical vaccine testing of high-risk pathogens under safe and secure conditions.

A second facility will be located on the Bannatyne campus. Prairie One Health's emerging respiratory disease center provides a “Level 3 Isolation” agricultural laboratory that is not currently available in Manitoba.

These labs help Manitoba researchers and their private sector partners build predictive models for collaborative drug development and biomanufacturing at scale to develop next-generation vaccines by combining artificial intelligence and machine learning.

“The investment is consistent with UM's strategic priority to build research capacity in the life sciences and biomanufacturing sectors, as well as its history as a globally recognized research leader in pandemic preparedness,” the university said in a statement.

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