Biologics Manufacturing Excellence at BIOVECTRA

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Developing new processes, optimizing existing processes, and facilitating novel therapeutics—we are here to help

Twenty years ago, a major pharmaceutical company presented us with a complex microbial fermentation project. They needed a high-quality, GMP North American supplier, and BIOVECTRA enthusiastically rose to the challenge. Fourteen months and a capital expansion later, we began commercial manufacturing and haven’t looked back.

This core expertise naturally led us to the microbial biopharmaceutical business, which is now even more thoroughly supported by our state-of-the-art facility in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Our team is passionate about leveraging the power of microbial fermentation, often coupled with our synthetic chemistry expertise, to solve complex problems and create biopharmaceuticals to improve patient health.

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“Sometimes clients are surprised by how much effort and care we put into making sure their projects succeed. As we run processes, we’ll often find ways to improve them, and we make those recommendations. Likewise, if for some reasons we face production challenges, we put great effort into investigating why, and we proactively share those insights with the client.”

— Shawn DeLong, Vice President and General Manager, Biologics Operations

“We are constantly evaluating the biopharmaceutical sector and carefully considering how BIOVECTRA needs to evolve to best serve the future needs of our clients and the market as a whole.”

—Gregor Awang, Director Biologics Process Development

Fortified Supply Assurance

Risk Factors Carefully Considered
BIOVECTRA applies a patient-first risk-based approach to process additives and cell lines that may create risks within other programs. Characteristics like sensitizers, phage, potential pathogens, and other factors are carefully considered as programs are viewed and onboarded.

Decades of Fermentation Experience
We are highly skilled at completing and often shortening traditionally long fermentation processes within strict aseptic manufacturing guidelines. Fermentation processes are supported by 24/7 operator coverage and are continuously improved with equipment and facility upgrades.

Improved Process Economics

Processing Scales for the Full Product Life Cycle
We continue to add to our ability to accommodate small-batch, pilot, clinical, and commercial production needs. Our investment in large infrastructure offers high-volume output capabilities in the range of a metric ton of purified recombinant protein per year, depending on the process’s productivity.

Process Cadence
We designed our commercial facility to run unit operations in parallel, reducing process cycle times and providing an increased annual production throughput. 

Process Optimization
We employ a wide range of strategies, including scale-down models and process parameter sampling, to gain statistically relevant data to control processes and maximize process optimization.

Accelerated Speed-to-Market

Parallel Development
Our bioanalytical group is structured to ensure that method qualification and validation activities occur parallel to scale-up and engineering activities. This work structure maximizes speed to product release.

Forward-Looking Team Evolving with Your Changing Needs
We assess programs in our clients’ earlier-phase pipeline to ensure that our capabilities align with their late-stage clinical manufacturing needs, reducing the lead time to GMP manufacturing.

Highly Skilled, Reliable Partner

Bioconjugation Process Technologies
Our more than twenty years of experience in PEG process development enables a detailed understanding of the sensitivity, process controls, and client expectations related to maintaining product quality in bioconjugate processes.

Flexible biomanufacturing capabilities
BIOVECTRA is equipped to work with a range of biosafety level one (BSL-1) expression systems, including E. Coli and Pichia Pastoris. The types of drug substances we are manufacturing comprise of proteins, enzyme, antibody fragments, and peptides.

Scope and Scale

  • 8,000+ m² facility
  • 100 L and 1,000 L single-use fermenters
  • Two 17,000 L fermenters
  • 12,000 L refolding tank
  • 1.4m column chromatography capability
  • UF/ DF skids from 0.5 to 120 m² scale
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Process Development

Demonstrated experience in process development and characterization, offering phase appropriate solutions and rapid optimization.

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Analytical Development

Targeted analytical support from early development to validation of commercial processes and continuous process verification, all along the life cycle of your program.

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Tech Transfer

Dedicated tech transfer teams ensuring a seamless transition from development to manufacturing - collaborating with our clients with a problem-solving mindset.

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Clinical Development

Supplying our clients with pre-clinical and clinical material to enabling them to move quickly and cost-efficiently through the clinical phases.

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Scale-Up

De-risking our client’s programs by effectively managing the transition from lab to pilot to manufacturing scale.

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Commercial Scale

A proven history of commercial manufacturing partnerships growing alongside our clients. Effective collaboration increasing speed-to-market.

Browse Other Areas of Expertise

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Synthetic Small Molecules

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mRNA/pDNA

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High Potency APIs

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Project Support

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Bioreagents

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Ready to learn how BIOVECTRA can help? Contact us today!

SEO plus – Test

  • 20+ years at GSK, leading R&D activities on multiple vaccine programs
  • Recently held positions in industry include: Senior Director (Function Head), Protein Biochemistry; Director, Antigen Design & Prototype Production; and, Associate Director, Antigen Design and Protein Characterization.
  • Key areas of expertise are:
    • Process development of protein Biologics/Recombinant Antigens
    • Recombinant protein expression (mammalian, insect, yeast, bacterial)
    • Production/design of Viral Vectors, mRNA vaccines, Bacterial outer membrane vesicles
    • Protein Engineering and Structural Biology
    • Defining quality attributes, biophysical characterization of proteins, and analytical strategy
  • Post graduate degrees in Functional Genomics (Université Laval) and Bioinformatics (MIT); M. Sc. Microbiology and Immunology (Laval).
  • 25+ Patent & 5 Scientific Publications

Normand Blais – Senior Director Development & Innovation, Biologics

  • 20+ years at GSK, leading R&D activities on multiple vaccine programs
  • Recently held positions in industry include: Senior Director (Function Head), Protein Biochemistry; Director, Antigen Design & Prototype Production; and, Associate Director, Antigen Design and Protein Characterization.
  • Key areas of expertise are:
    • Process development of protein Biologics/Recombinant Antigens
    • Recombinant protein expression (mammalian, insect, yeast, bacterial)
    • Production/design of Viral Vectors, mRNA vaccines, Bacterial outer membrane vesicles
    • Protein Engineering and Structural Biology
    • Defining quality attributes, biophysical characterization of proteins, and analytical strategy
  • Post graduate degrees in Functional Genomics (Université Laval) and Bioinformatics (MIT); M. Sc. Microbiology and Immunology (Laval).
  • 25+ Patent & 5 Scientific Publications

Oliver Technow - Chief Executive Officer

  • Industry Master Degree from Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce, Frankfurt Germany.
  • More than 20 years of global pharmaceutical industry experience.
  • Held numerous leadership positions in commercial development, marketing and brand management, and lifecycle management and has extensive product launch and market access expertise in Europe and North America.
  • In 1997, joined Eisai GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany and in 2002, was appointed Director, CNS Business Unit; in 2006, was appointed Vice President, Head of Global Marketing for Eisai Inc. in Woodcliff Lake, NJ;  in 2011, was appointed Vice President, Established Products Business Unit; in 2013, was appointed President & General Manager for Eisai Limited in Mississauga, ON.
  • Appointed President of BIOVECTRA Inc., December 10, 2015.
  • Board Director for BIOTECanada
  • Member of the Steering Council of Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC)
  • In 2017, appointed to the Government of Canada’s Health/Bio-sciences Strategic Economic Table
  • In November 2019, promoted to Chief Executive Officer at BIOVECTRA
  • In June 2020, named new Chair of PEI BioAlliance Board of Directors