Manitoba Chamber of Commerce
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/985841
44 SPRING 2018 Bringing City speeds to Rural Communi es with Fiber to the Home Sign up at: HighSpeedCrow.ca EMERGENT BIOSOLUTIONS project managers, front-line equipment operators and more. Through Emergent's corporate social responsibility program, employees support organizations such as Winnipeg Harvest, the Children's Wish Foundation, the Military Family Resource Centre, Ronald McDonald House, Salvation Army, Siloam Mission and Habitat for Humanity. And Lobe notes that capital investments in the 125,000-square-foot facility, located at SmartPark at the University of Manitoba's Fort Garry campus, also have a trickle effect into the broader community. "We're making a $7-million investment of a new filler and I can tell you that this place is a revolving door of contractors, plumbers, electricians, various tradespeople all getting gainful employment from the bioscience sector." Winnipeg operations run the full gamut from research and development through to commercial manufacturing. Along with contract manufacturing of WinRHO and other products, it makes Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion to treat people, primarily military personnel, who are exposed to chemical agents or pesticides. While its main clients are the U.S. government and military, as well as Canada's government and armed forces, Emergent products are stockpiled with governments around the world to protect civilian and military populations. The company also works with agencies like the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to identify and respond to emerging threats. In Winnipeg, Antibody Therapeutics Business Unit senior vice-president Dr. Laura Saward is leading a project to develop a rapid- response mobile manufacturing unit that could be deployed during outbreaks of Ebola or other diseases around the world. The idea is to collect plasma from donors who have been exposed to the disease and use it to create a therapeutic on-site to protect people and mitigate an outbreak. ■ Emergent BioSolutions Winnipeg vice-president and general manager Mark Lobe says investments in the local facility trickle into the community, providing work for tradespeople of all stripes. Photo by Darcy Finley << CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS