Sanofi opens new $925M manufacturing facility in Toronto

The new 194,000-sq.-ft. facility will oversee end-to-end manufacturing of flu vaccines

Sanofi has inaugurated it new vaccine manufacturing facility in Toronto, the Charles Best Building. (Courtesy Sanofi) — Sanofi has opened its new $925M vaccine manufacturing facility, the Charles Best Building, at its 52-acre Toronto campus. (Courtesy Sanofi)

Sanofi Canada has inaugurated its new $925-million facility to produce flu vaccines in Toronto, the Charles Best Building.

The French pharmaceutical manufacturer said the investment, which included $415 million in federal funding and $55 million from the Government of Ontario, was the single-largest investment in a biomanufacturing facility in Canadian history.

Named after Dr. Charles Best, the co-discoverer of insulin and an early medical director at Sanofi's Toronto campus, the new facility spans over 194,000 square feet on the 52-acre campus.

The company said it will: provide antigen for Sanofi's Fluzone High-Dose influenza vaccine, increasing supply availability in Canada and other countries around the world; strategically grow Canada's biomanufacturing sector; and install industrial scale capacity to strengthen Canada's preparedness for future pandemics.

Anchor facility

The building is the anchor facility in an end-to-end influenza vaccine production chain, which spans drug substance and also formulation, filling, inspection and packaging (FFIP), Sanofi said.

It is part of a broader $2-billion capital build-out across Sanofi's Toronto real estate portfolio by 2028, which includes:

$800 million bulk vaccine expansion: A companion 270,000 sq. ft. pediatric and booster vaccine plant currently underway on the same campus.
$294 million tech/AI expansion: An expansion of Sanofi's downtown Toronto AI Centre of Excellence at 240 Richmond St. W., which was announced in May.

"Sanofi's continued investment in Canada's operations spans R&D, production and delivery of vaccines and medicines to protect Canadians," Sanofi Canada country lead James Guy said.

"Today marks a strategic milestone for Sanofi and we remain committed to working with the government to ensure Canadians have timely and reliable access to the innovations that improve – and save – lives."

About Sanofi

Sanofi is an R&D driven, AI-powered biopharma company and the largest biopharma manufacturer in Canada. The company has over 2,000 employees and is on track to deliver over $2 billion in new infrastructure investments by 2028.