Therapure Biopharma Inc.’s new manufacturing facility has led to more jobs and business interest since its opening in April, said company spokesperson Dina Iezzi.
“The expectation was we were going to hire 100 people, we’re going to exceed that,” she said to YourMississaugaBiz.com.
Company president and CEO Nick Green said the new custom biologics manufacturing wing on Meadowpine Blvd has also led to a significant increase in interest from new and existing clients.
“We’re much better competitive on the global market because of the capabilities that we brought in,” said Iezzi of the new 130,000-square-foot-facility recently opened with the help of the Ontario government.
Green said one of the challenges since the facility’s opening has been policy complications that prevent Therapure from quickly bringing in international talent.
Green explained the industry’s extended selling cycle of 12-24 months made it hard to say any dramatic increases in business had happened as a result of the facility’s opening.
“What we’ve seen is a significant increase in request for proposals or requests for quotes,” he said. “We’ve also seen a significant increase in website traffic and awareness of Therapure.”
Green said the company’s revenues are split between 40 per cent from Europe, 40 per cent from the United States and 20 per cent the Canada.
“They’re impressed with the amount of capability we have today,” Green said.
Green said he was unsure increased business from existing clients came as a result of the new manufacturing wing. “We have seen new clients specifically on the area we built the capability for now coming to us and recognizing Therapure for having that ability and a very good reputation from work we’ve done with existing clients,” he said.
Green said while the company was able to find the staff needed to help open the new wing, it wasn’t easy due to Therapure’s continued growth. “One of the biggest issues we have is recruiting talent,” he said. “One of the toughest challenges is finding the right people.”
Green said it wasn’t that Toronto or the GTA lacked great people. It was the process of finding the right ones on the first hire that was difficult, especially for a specialized business. “Trying to identify and find the right one, with the cultural fit, work ethic and technical capabilities,” was difficult he said. “It’s a challenge when you’re hiring as many people as we have for the size of company we are.”
He also expressed frustration at policies that prevented Therapure from quickly bringing in international consultants or expertise. “We’re struggling to get one of our service providers across the border to service a piece of equiptment that’s been restricted entry for four weeks,” Green said. “And we don’t have that talent in Canada,” Iezzi added.
“Simply, at the end of the day we need the job done tomorrow and not in five weeks,” Green said of the desired consultants, manufacturers and full-time employees. “It just doesn’t seem like an easy system to me from an international forum.”
Therapure Biopharma Inc. is an integrated biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, purifies and packages therapeutic proteins and biosimilars.
The company was also recently awarded this year’s Gold Leaf Award for Emerging Company of the Year by national industry association BIOTECanada in the Health Biotech Category.
Karen K. Ho 