Ottawa: Canada has torn up a deal with US biotech firm Novavax for Covid vaccines that were to be produced locally from a new Canadian facility, according to regulatory filings Tuesday.
The Maryland-based company said it received notice last Friday that the Canadian government was "terminating, with immediate effect" a January 2021 agreement to buy millions of doses.
The reason, it said, was the company "not receiving regulatory approval for its Covid-19 vaccine using bulk antigen produced at Biologics Manufacturing Centre Inc" in Montreal by the end of 2024.
Ottawa had announced in early 2021 that Novavax would become the first company to manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine in Canada.
The governemnt and the company signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a new production facility in Montreal.
The agreement was later amended to add the December 31, 2024 deadline for vacinne production at the facility.
Novavax was an early frontrunner in the global vaccine race, but fell behind after being hit by manufacturing and regulatory delays.
Pharmaceutical companies last year reported drops in sales for Covid vaccines.
The nixed Novavax deal comes amid high tensions between Canada and the United States, over US President Donald Trump's threats to slap punishing tariffs on imports into the United States from its northern neighbor.
