Purdue Pharma Canada intends to break ground on the $32 million (£17 million) expansion in January, 2009. The investment will double the company's R&D capacity in Ontario.
The province is investing $4.9 million (£2.6 million) million through its Biopharmaceutical Investment Program, part of the government's Next Generation of Jobs Fund. Overall, Ontario is investing $3 billion (£1.6 billion) in its Innovation Agenda.
“This investment makes the most of the talent, creativity and hard work of our people. These high-value jobs will help us lead the world in the knowledge economy of the 21st century,” said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.
“The biopharmaceutical industry is a sector where Ontario can take on the world and win. Thanks to companies like Purdue Pharma Canada, our province's science, technology and business graduates will continue to find work right here in Ontario, generating new products and services that will grow our economy,” said Minister of Research and Innovation John Wilkinson.
Ontario is home to one of the world's leading biopharmaceutical industries. The sector employs more than 20,000 Ontarians in high-value jobs, including researchers and scientists.
Pharmaceutical companies are important contributors to research and innovation in Ontario, providing approximately $567 million (£303 million) in R&D spending in 2007.
Since 1956, Purdue Pharma Canada has never undergone layoffs. Today, the company employs more than 200 people and is Pickering's fourth-largest private-sector employer.
Find out more about the Next Generation of Jobs Fund (http://www.ontariocanada.com/ontcan/en/nextgen_main_en.jsp) and the Biopharmaceutical Investment Program (http://www.mri.gov.on.ca/english/news/bk112708.asp).
Contact:
Ray Lancashire, Media Relations, Invest Ontario Ministry of International Trade and Investment Tel: (416) 326-1608 E-mail: ray.lancashire@ontario.ca or Alistair Scott, Media Relations (UK) Grayling Global Tel: 0207 255 5450 alistair.scott@uk.grayling.com
Source: Ontario
