Hamilton life sciences company gets $138M boost, 70 jobs expected

An announcement from the mayor and the province could mean dozens of new jobs coming to Hamilton.

A local radiopharmaceutical company is set to get a $138 million boost, and the provincial government is planning to pitch in some tax dollars too.

This announcement comes at a time when we are hearing about job losses in the automotive industry and the steel industry in Ontario, so officials with the city and province say the investment is welcome news.

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath, Vic Fedeli, the minister of economic development, along with other politicians, were all on hand for AtomVie’s $138 million expansion into its manufacturing facility of radiopharmaceuticals on the Hamilton Mountain.

“Right here in Hamilton in the life sciences sector, it is so important. This is really the heart and soul of radiopharmaceuticals. These are life saving cancer drugs that are being created right here in Hamilton,” said Fedeli.

CHCH News asked CEO of AtomVie Global Radiopharma Inc., Bruno Paquin, what cancer fighting radiopharmaceuticals will be developed here.

“Most of these today are investigational in nature, which means they are in clinical trials. But there are a couple that are commercially available. And I can tell you that the results are quite astonishing and quite promising,” said Paquin.

The company says the spend will keep the current 131 jobs at the plant and create 70 new positions while expanding domestic manufacturing to patients in Canada and around the world.

“The life sciences sector in Hamilton is growing. This has become quite a hub for these kinds of companies, these kinds of business because the research is here, the talent is here and the capacity is here and the momentum is here,” said Horwath.

The Invest Ontario Fund is also providing an additional $5 million to AtomVie.

So the company hopes to add those 70 extra jobs by the end of next year for a total of just over 200 jobs.

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