Canadian Pharma Companies
Although the second largest country in the world in terms of area, but with a modest population, in Canada, there are more than a hundred pharmaceutical enterprises producing various pharmaceuticals, the liberal government attended to the construction of new industry enterprises.
The project and execution of the new plasma fractionation plant, the largest investment in the biopharmaceutical industry in Canada, was collaboratively carried out by specialists from France, Canada and the United States. The project, which was completed in 18 months, including the qualification stage, was worked along with Canadian specialists, experts from the French Center of Excellence and American engineers. A plant dedicated to the production of intravenous immunoglobulin and albumin was built as part of the development of Green Cross Bio Therapeutics (GCBT), based in Montreal, Quebec. The well-known French company Boccard, specialized in the design and installation of high-performance and innovative industrial plants, was involved in the process in order to select the most modern equipment, based on its rich experience and knowledge in the field of protein purification and blood plasma fractionation.
The next step in the production of mRNA vaccines was the signing on August 10, 2021 of an agreement between Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel and the Canadian government, represented by Federal Minister of Innovation Francois-Philippe Champagne, to build a plant for the production of an experimental vaccine . The event was the second major mRNA vaccine deal in Canada to be closed by Ottawa in less than three months. Since back in May, Champagne announced the allocation of $199 million to Mississauga-based Resilience Technologies, which was half the cost of expanding production and producing 640 million doses of mRNA vaccines annually. Negotiations are currently underway with Moderna on the financial contribution of the federal government to the construction of the new plant and the timing of its construction.
Based on available information, Moderna, founded in 2010, is an American biotechnology company engaged in the development of drugs based on messenger RNA (mode/RNA) and has a stable negative financial balance. By the way, this vaccine against COVID-19 is the first product of the company to receive approval for widespread use and, most notably, in record time. So, in May 2020, Moderna reported on initial positive results in developing a vaccine against COVID-19 and preparing for clinical trials. Less than six months later, the company announced a 94.5 percent effectiveness of the vaccine and the European Commission immediately approved a contract with the pharmaceutical company Moderna, with an initial purchase of 80 million doses and a similar one after the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine is proven. It is strange that no one was embarrassed by the very possibility of manufacturing tens of millions of doses in such a short time interval by an unknown company that had not previously released a single drug, as well as the experimental status of the vaccine itself. But in 2021, experts from the World Vaccine Congress recognized Moderna’s drug as the best coronavirus vaccine in the world, and Moderna’s drug, of course, deservedly won the Best New Vaccine Technology/Platform category. Recently, Moderna had already received World Health Organization (WHO) approval for emergency use, based on the opinion of a panel of experts noting that “the vaccine is 94.1 percent effective and is recommended for use in all populations over 18 years of age.”
Here it suddenly turned out that increasing production volumes to meet the emerging demand sometimes turned out to be problematic for a young company. At that time, Moderna cooperated only with the Swiss company Lonza and produced the medicinal substance of the vaccine at enterprises in Switzerland and New Hampshire. In the spring of 2021, life sciences companies have their eyes set on Canada, which has pledged “$2.2 billion for biotech research and commercial production over the next seven years.” Approximately half of these funds are directly targeted to companies wishing to expand or establish product lines in Canada. In order to popularize the idea, a propaganda campaign in the press immediately began, along the lines of “currently Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are two mRNA vaccines against COVID-19, and neither company can meet the growing demand.”
All these events unfolded against the backdrop of a rivalry between two scientists, Ian McLachlan and Thomas Madden, who met a quarter of a century ago at a small biotech company Inex Pharmaceuticals, located in Vancouver. The acquaintance took place when the Canadian Ian MacLachlan, who defended his doctoral dissertation in biochemistry, in 1996 took up “technology for the development of modern vaccines against COVID-19.” Inex, founded by Peter Cullis, is considered a pioneer in the field of lipid nanoparticles used in various fields of medicine. In particular, this particular method was used in the development of messenger RNA vaccines to combat the spread of COVID-19. The professor of physics at the University of British Columbia has created “several biotech start-ups and assembled an elite group of scientists who have made Vancouver the world’s center of lipid chemistry.” In fact, Inex was not a research laboratory at all, but a business that switched to a promising chemotherapy drug, so the McLachlan group was disbanded, leaving only a few employees under the leadership of the scientist. However, in 2000, Cullis spun off the lipid delivery system assets into a new company, Protiva Biotherapeutics, in which McLachlan became director of science and Inex received a minority stake. American biochemist Mark Murray was appointed CEO of the company, it was at this time that Protiva employees Lorne Palmer and Lloyd Jeffs made a discovery that formed the basis of a new method. By the way, as it was stated, 40 percent of the shares of this company belongs to the Canadian Prime Minister, who is so persistently forcing Canadian citizens to participate in a medical experiment.
Most likely, many government officials are shareholders in the facility in Whitby, Ontario, where the production of the drug Molnupiravir begins, according to a contract signed between Merck and Thermo Fisher Scientific. The drug has already begun to be used in hospitalized patients with coronavirus infection, although it has not yet been approved by Health Canada. However, Merck has already produced 10 million courses of the drug and plans to ship to the UK, the EU, the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America.
And to conclude the general review of the Canadian pharmaceutical industry, connected with financial relations with the government, it is worth paying attention to the unsolved murder of the owner of the largest pharmaceutical company Apotex and his wife. The company is a member of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA), “drugs containing a chemical, an active pharmaceutical ingredient, identical to that patented by the original drug developer.” Such medicines are manufactured and marketed after the expiration of the patent under an international non-proprietary name or under a commercial name that is different from the trade name. Apotex is also a member of the Generic Manufacturers Association (GPhA), is an associate member of the Canadian Animal Health Institute (CAHI) and the Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management (CAPDM), and is also a partner in the Greater Toronto Green project.
It is known that in October 2014, Apotex filed a lawsuit against the government of Canada demanding to lift the ban on the import of medicines produced in factories in India. The government has issued a ban due to allegations by Apotex employees in Bangalore of manipulating data. Canadian generic pharmaceutical giant Apotex was the backbone of the Sherman family’s $3.2 billion fortune, ranked 12th richest person in Canada at the time of their death and first entered the billionaire list more than 15 years ago. Apotex Inc., founded in 1974 by Barry Sherman and based in Toronto, by 2016 produced more than 300 drugs sold in more than 115 countries with annual sales in excess of $1 billion. Apotex employed more than 10,000 people manufacturing, researching, developing and distributing generic drugs for a range of conditions, including cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, glaucoma, infections and blood pressure.
As for the founder of the company and philanthropist Bernard Charles Sherman, who was born February 2, 1942 in Toronto in the Jewish family of Herbert and Sarah Sherman, whose ancestors fled from Russia and Poland. Bernard’s father was president and senior partner of American Trimming, a manufacturer of zippers. After his death at the age of 46, Barry’s mother re-entered the practice of therapy, allowing her son to graduate from the Forrest Hill Collegiate Institute. In parallel with his studies, Sherman led an active social life and was a member of the student militia of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. In 1958, at the age of 16, he became the youngest student to enter the University of Toronto in an engineering program. In 1964, Bernard received a Bachelor of Applied Science degree and the Governor General’s University Dissertation Award. He then went to graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where in 1967 he was awarded a Ph.D. in astrophysics, and he became the owner of a patent in the field of control systems for orbiting satellites.
While still in training at the age of 18, Bernard worked for his uncle Louis Lloyd Winter at his pharmaceutical company, Empire Laboratories. Louis actually became a new father for Barry and the nephew often replaced his uncle in the management of the firm, especially during Winter’s business trips. When the Winters, who left four children, died 17 days apart in 1965, Sherman bought the company founded by his uncle, which was managed by the Royal Trust Co. Together with his old friend and partner Joel Ulster, Sherman bought the company back with $350,000 borrowed from his parents. The deal provided for the payment of maintenance for the next 15 years to the orphans of Winter and provided for the possibility of obtaining a job in the company when they reach the age of 21, including the right to purchase 5 percent of the shares. In fact, the same thing was asked of him, in 1965, shortly before his death, by the widow of Louis, but then he had not yet made any decision.
In 1970, Sherman became the largest shareholder in Barr Laboratories by investing in Empire’s nearly $2 million in revenue. In 1972, together with Ulster, they sold Empire Laboratories for $2 million to the American company ICN Pharmaceuticals, with the condition that none of the shareholders would be in the pharmaceutical business. However, Sherman took advantage of the free Canadian interpretation of the laws and returned to his previous job, recording the shares not for himself, but for the firm Bernard C. Sherman Limited. Thanks to this, in 1974 he founded Apotex, which became the world’s leading supplier of generic drugs and the largest pharmaceutical company in Canada, supplying 300 types of generic drugs to 120 countries. From 1981 to 1993, Sherman served as chairman of Barr Laboratories, which became a division of Teva Pharmaceuticals in 2008. In 2012, he stepped down as CEO of Apotex, retaining his position as Executive Chairman.
It is well known that in the pharmaceutical business Sherman made Apotex an active fighter against the monopoly of big companies on drug brands, which made many enemies in the face of many drug manufacturers, whose cheaper analogues he made and patented, and who spoke about him in the most unflattering ways. . In addition, he supported manufacturers of natural medicines, for example, he was considered the main shareholder in Nutrition for Life International Inc., a corporation that manufactures vitamin supplements. The CEO of this corporation, Kevin Trudeau, was twice accused of fraud and was convicted for writing and distributing his book, which was considered dangerous. Trudeau also claimed that the pharmaceutical industry and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were working together and deceiving the public to enforce a total ban on natural medicines. He also claimed that outgoing FDA commissioners are being offered jobs for large pharmaceutical companies, with pay in the millions of dollars. Trudeau, it should be noted, quite rightly, called these proposals “bribery”, “conflict of interest” and “payments”. Also in his commercials, he claimed that the food industry added harmful chemicals to products. Source>>
Sherman also fought a lawsuit with the orphans of Winter, who claimed a 20 percent stake in Apotex. Most of the orphans’ money was spent by foster parents who did not pay proper attention to the children at all. Sherman gave his cousins money, paid for their drug rehab, bought them houses, and helped run their businesses. However, in 2006, the three Winter brothers, along with the widow of Dana, who had overdosed, filed a lawsuit in the Ontario Supreme Court, first against the Royal Trust and then against Sherman himself, demanding $1 million and a 20 percent stake in Apotex. . The lawsuit ended in Sherman’s victory in September 2017, when Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Hood dismissed the Winters’ claims, but they filed an appeal, saying they “continue to fight even after Sherman’s death.”
One of Sherman’s most famous lawsuits involved Nancy Olivieri, a hematologist who conducted clinical trials for one of Apotex’s drugs. The drug deferiprone, whose safety and efficacy was based on an analysis of data from twelve clinical trials involving 236 participants, was at the center of a protracted battle between Nancy Olivieri, a Canadian hematologist and researcher, and the pharmaceutical company Apotex. Litigation began in 1996 and delayed approval of the drug in North America until October 2011, while in the European Union, deferiprone was approved for medical use in August 1999. According to data obtained by Olivieri, deferiprone led to progressive liver fibrosis, however, the drug received approval in the form of a generic version in August 2019.
It is also known that the Sherman couple was actively involved in charity work, donating millions of dollars to various public organizations, hospitals and universities. Apotex made the largest donation of $1.5 million to the University of Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy and provided $10 million to build the new Humber River Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. The Shermans helped establish the Apotex Centre, a Jewish nursing home at Baycrest Hospital, of which Bernard was a member of the board of directors and an honorary member of the foundation’s board, including Honey. Sherman’s wife, Hani, served as chairman of the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Center for Holocaust Education in Toronto from 2011 to 2013 and served on the boards of Mount Sinai Hospital’s women’s care department, as well as many other committees and organizations. Also through his foundation, The Apotex Foundation, Bernard has sent medicines to developing countries and world disaster zones and has done work under the Pledge to Africa Act.
The African Provision Act (Act to Amend the Patents Act and the Food and Drugs Act) was initiated by Jean Chrétien and is an Act of the Parliament of Canada that amends the Patents and Foods Act and the Drugs Act to implement the Canadian access to medicines. Passed in May 2004, it allows the Canadian government to impose compulsory licenses for the export of essential medicines to countries where it is not possible for a person to make their own. Other countries that have assumed similar obligations after Canada are only two countries – Norway and India. As part of this program, since 2005, Apotex has been developing three drugs for the treatment of HIV: AZT, 3TC and Navirapin. In September 2008, after four years of grueling battles with bureaucracy and politicians, Apotex shipped seven million doses of Apo-TriAvir, a generic AIDS drug, to Rwanda, enough to treat 21,000 people for a year. Apotex was the only Canadian company to develop and manufacture a combination drug for AIDS patients. Source: site:360wiki.ru
In a similar fashion to numerous examples, the Shermans created the private charity Apotex Foundation, which over the last 10 years of their life has invested more than $50 million in medicines, delivering them to every disaster zone around the world.
It should also be noted that Sherman was the main financial donor of the Liberal Party. So in 2015, on the eve of the federal elections, the Sherman mansion hosted a fundraiser for Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. Then, on August 26, Sherman organized a paid meeting with Trudeau, selling tickets for 1.5 thousand dollars, and on November 7, 2016, he carried out a similar action for Secretary of the Treasury Bill Morneau, for a more modest amount of 0.5 thousand dollars per ticket. For this service, Apotex was registered as a lobbying firm with the federal government, bypassing a ban on such work for five years after the lobbyist, in this case Sherman, helped raise funds for a politician or party. Based on numerous complaints, in October 2016, Democracy Watch initiated an “investigation into access to federal officials in exchange for money” assigned to Lobbying Commissioner Karen Shepherd. Sherman, in turn, filed a counterclaim in September 2017 demanding that the investigation be closed, declaring it “unfounded” and “unfair.” At the time of the December 14, 2017 murder of Sherman and his wife, the lobbying investigation was ongoing.
Despite all of the above conflict situations, the main suspect is still Sherman’s cousin, Kerry Winter, the son of Louis Winter, who hired the future billionaire in his network of medical laboratories Empire Laboratories.
However, there is a recently emerged, another version of this murder. The Canadian high court does not rule out the participation in this double murder of international organizations such as the UN and WHO, funded by the Rockefeller and Gates foundations and promoting experimental vaccines. Apotex, which produces huge amounts of hydroxychloroquine, a cheap and effective drug used in the treatment of colds, has definitely made it difficult to achieve a total vaccination program for the entire population of the planet.
So what really happened? One of the richest people in Canada, a 75-year-old businessman and his 70-year-old wife Hani, became a burden to get from the outskirts to the office, and they decided to sell the mansion and move closer to the center. When the Shermans failed to show up at the office on Thursday, December 14, 2017, the following day, a real estate agent, unable to contact them, went to their home to arrange a date for showing the house to potential buyers. He found the hosts hanging from the railings of an indoor swimming pool located in the basement. “The corpses of the owners of the house were tied around the neck with straps to the railing that runs along one side of the pool. Bernard’s legs were stretched out and ankles crossed, while Honey fell on her side, her face covered in bruises. The Shermans’ arms were drawn back, held in place by the sleeves of their overcoats slung over their shoulders. Both corpses were turned with their backs to the water and fully clothed.” Arriving police, firefighters and ambulance “stated death on the spot”, and the police immediately assessed the circumstances of the incident as “suspicious”.
Condolences were expressed by Canadian politicians, an impromptu memorial was erected at the Sherman house from flowers brought by neighbors, Apotex employees and simply caring people, and flags were flown at half-mast on the building of the United Jewish Conscription campus. Following a memorial service on December 21 at the Mississauga Convention Center, the Shermans were buried at Pards Shalom Cemetery in Vaughan.
The Toronto Police Homicide Department was investigating the incident. After an autopsy performed on December 16, it was concluded that the cause of death for both was “suffocation occurring due to compression of the neck with a ligature.” However, the word “murder” was not used in the police statement, and Homicide Detective Brandon Price announced that “the investigation does not include a search for suspects due to the lack of signs of entry into the house.” The ubiquitous journalists, citing police sources, have already rushed to inform the public that the main version of what happened is that “Sherman killed his wife and then committed suicide.”
This version, which does not stand up to scrutiny, aroused the indignation of the Sherman children, who called for a “thorough, intensive and objective criminal investigation.” Everyone who knew the billionaire joked gloomily that “a 75-year-old old man simply could not pull this off, and if he had already planned to kill himself and his wife, he would have done it with the help of pills.” A re-examination of the Shermans’ bodies revealed marks on the spouses’ wrists, indicating the binding of their hands, moreover, the neat position of Bernard’s legs did not confirm the version of suicide. Subsequently, the Sherman children hired lawyer Brian Greenspan to conduct a private investigation, forming a team of former Toronto Police Homicide officers Michael Davis and Tom Klatt, who in turn run their own investigative firms. However, in the interest of the investigation, the results of the second autopsy were not made public, nor was any new information from the police investigation.
A year after the murder, despite the Sherman family’s offered reward of 10 million Canadian dollars, the murder remained unsolved and the killer was not found. The only thing that became known in January 2018 was that private investigators were suggesting a “double contract killing theory carried out by professional hit men.” From the published documents it became known that a suspicious man “with a strange gait”, registered by the only working surveillance camera, left Canada almost immediately after the murder of the Shermans. Following private investigators on January 26, Police Detective Sgt. Susan Gomez also told a press conference that the Shermans’ death, after two years, was finally being investigated as a homicide. Source>>>
The City of North York, at the request of the Sherman family, decided on March 19, 2019, to demolish the mansion where the murder took place, and on May 6, the mansion was demolished. Toronto Sun investigative journalist Kevin Donovan published a book titled The Billionaire Murders in which he suggested that “The Shermans knew who killed them and that the motive for the crime was money.” So, the police investigation into the double homicide is ongoing, but no results have been reached and no progress has been made in the case. Against this background, the posthumous awarding of Bernard Sherman in 2017 with the Order of Canada, obviously, should have served as a kind of payment for the unwillingness and / or inability to solve this crime.
The world’s leading pharmaceutical companies 2013(sales, $ billion)
- Pfizer (USA) – 59.0
- Novartis (Switzerland) – 56.7
- Roche Holding (Switzerland) – 49.7
- Merck & Co (USA) – 47.3
- Sanofi (France) – 46.1
- GlaxoSmithKline (UK) – 43.0
- Abbott Laboratories (USA) – 39.9
- AstraZeneca (UK/Sweden) – 28.6
- Eli Lilly and Company (USA) – 22.6
- Sinopharm Group (China) – 21.5
- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (Israel) – 20.9
- Takeda Pharmaceutical (Japan) – 18.2
- AbbVie (USA) – 18.0
- Bristol Myers Squibb (USA) – 17.6
- Otsuka Pharmaceutical (Japan) – 13.9
- Novo Nordisk (Denmark) – 13.8
- Merck KGaA (Germany) – 13.8
- Astellas Pharma (Japan) – 11.7
- Daiichi Sankyo (Japan) – 11.3
As of 2013, the world’s leading pharmaceutical distribution companies were (sales, billion dollars)
- McKesson (USA) – 123.5
- Cardinal Health (USA) – 104.8
- AmerisourceBergen (USA) – 80.6
- Medipal Holdings (Japan) – 33.2
- Alfresa Holdings (Japan) – 28.2
- Suzuken (Japan) – 22.5
- Toho Holdings (Japan) – 13.4