The Ottawa Hospital's Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre (BMC) Makes Breakthroughs Break Through As Boreal Biomanufacturing

CDMO continues on path to commercial growth, expansion

Ottawa, ON - The Ottawa Hospital’s Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre (BMC), a facility that has developed more than 20 distinct cell- and virus-based products for human clinical trials in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia, is becoming Boreal Biomanufacturing (Boreal). 

The change is part of a major initiative to expand Boreal’s role as a national and global biomanufacturing centre of excellence and signals a commitment towards advancing novel treatments for cancer and complex diseases. As an early-phase, non-profit contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) serving both commercial clients and academic researchers, Boreal pioneered the development of oncolytic cancer-fighting viruses and the first made-in-Canada CAR-T therapy, while also developing innovative regenerative stem-cell therapies and viral vectors for gene therapy. Boreal has fostered the development and successful launch of multiple advanced therapy biotech start-ups.

Since its opening in 2006, Boreal has honed a special expertise in helping clients bridge the “translational divide,” the gap between proof-of-concept of a new advanced therapy and its progression into first-in-human clinical trials.

“For nearly twenty years, our biomanufacturing team has led some of Canada’s most important efforts to turn promising ideas into clinically proven therapies,” said Dr. Rebecca Auer, Executive Vice-President, Research and Innovation at The Ottawa Hospital. “We have a shared belief here that ‘research is care,’ which explains why Boreal’s role is so important. Right here, right now, we’re taking discoveries from commercial and academic researchers and seeing how those innovations can be developed to benefit not only patients at The Ottawa Hospital, but those all over the world.”

The name “Boreal Biomanufacturing” is a nod not only to the organization’s Canadian heritage, but also to its interconnectedness with the biotherapy community.

Boreal partners with a number of national networks that accelerate the translational development and progression of advanced therapies including BioCanRx, the Stem Cell Network, CellCAN, the Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Hub and the Canadian Biomanufacturing Cooperative. It also plays a key role in the Canadian-Led Immunotherapies Collaborative, which developed the first made-in-Canada CAR-T cells. Boreal is home to CanPRIME, the Canadian Partnership for Research in Immunotherapy Manufacturing Excellence, a partnership between The Ottawa Hospital, BioCanRx, and Mitacs, along with Algonquin College and the University of Ottawa, to train the next generation of biotech manufacturing professionals.

“Boreal has the right team in place with the right capabilities at the right time,” said Eric Lee, General Manager of Boreal. “There’s never been more hope for creating better treatments or cures in cancer and other complex diseases, but that hope rests on the ability to manufacture therapies that are safe, effective, and can be scaled to help patients wherever they are. We’ve proven we have the models to do that, which is why we’re expanding both our capacity and our commercial team.”

In 2029, Boreal will move into the University of Ottawa’s Advanced Medical Research Centre (AMRC), a seven-storey health sciences hub near Boreal’s current headquarters on The Ottawa Hospital’s General Campus. The additional manufacturing suites at AMRC, built with funding from Canada’s Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund and the Ontario Research Fund, will enable Boreal to support even more simultaneous viral vector and cell therapy manufacturing programs, while keeping its team close to the hospital and university communities that offer Boreal clients a distinct advantage.

“Everything’s right here – the patients, the clinicians, the researchers, the manufacturing capacity. Our clients rely on us to connect all the dots that lead from an idea to an actual trial-ready therapy, and we’re uniquely positioned at Boreal to do so,” Lee said. “We’ve spent the better part of two decades continually refining the science and business processes required to help our partners cross the translational divide. And their primary goals and ours have always been in-sync. We’re all trying to get the best possible treatments or cures to patients as efficiently and effectively as possible.

“The name ‘Boreal’ is new, but our commitment is stronger than ever. We’re still pursuing oncology and rare disease treatments that have never been done before.”

Boreal continues to be owned and operated by The Ottawa Hospital and its expansion is critical to the hospital’s goal of reshaping the future of health care. 

About The Ottawa Hospital

The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) is one of Canada’s top learning and research hospitals where we are guided by our vision to provide the world-class and compassionate care we would all want for our loved ones. Our multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, is home to the Regional Trauma Centre and Cancer Centre, and to discoveries that are adopted globally. Backed by generous support from the community, we are focused on reshaping the future of health care to improve the health of our diverse population of patients from Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, and Nunavut. www.ottawahospital.on.ca  

About Boreal Biomanufacturing

Boreal Biomanufacturing is a cell and gene therapy CDMO focused on turning promising breakthroughs into clinically proven and commercially viable advanced oncology and complex disease therapies. With nearly two decades of success embedded in The Ottawa Hospital, one of Canada’s largest research hospitals, Boreal brings together translational expertise, early phase clinical trial capabilities, and direct access to patients, and has become a trusted partner for early-phase clinical trials across North America, Europe and Asia. Learn more at boreal-bio.com