Ontario invests $8.25 million to boost Apotex productivity

Apotex, Inc, Toronto, has secured up to $8.25 million from the Ontario government to allow the pharmaceutical company to expand its product lines and enhance its productivity. The grant represents a portion of Apotex's total investment of $222.7 million for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2022 and will add 325 jobs and retain 1,265 positions in the company’s Etobicoke facility. Ontario’s support comes from its Jobs and Prosperity Fund, which allows for government-business partnerships that lead to job creation, innovation and exports. Every dollar invested in the fund leverages an average of $9 in private sector investments. The government says investing in Apotex is strategic in developing Ontario’s life sciences cluster which employs 60,000 people and accounts for more than half of Canada’s life sciences economic activity. Apotex is Canada’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs and is one of the top R&D spenders in the country. In FY16, its R&D outlays totaled $274.5 million, down 11.8% from FY15 when it spent $311.1 million