GlaxoSmithKline announces $23M expansion and R&D funding

Mississauga, ON – GlaxoSmithKline has announced a $23 million expansion of its Mississauga, ON, facility. The expansion will include an increase of over 75 jobs and a $1 million investment in Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District.

“GlaxoSmithKline is proud to contribute to Ontario’s robust and growing biotechnology sector,” says Paul Lucas, the company’s president and CEO. “Our announcements today are another example of GSK’s ongoing commitment to invest in innovation and research in Ontario.”

The company says it is expanding to provide more locally made medicines to patients in Ontario, across Canada and around the world. The expansion will include a facility expansion of more than 7,000 sq ft.

“Research and innovation is vital to Ontario’s future prosperity – jurisdictions that tap the creativity of their people will be home to the most rewarding jobs, the strongest economies and the best quality of life. That’s why we’ve created the new Ministry of Research and Innovation,” says Dalton McGuinty, premier of Ontario. “Our government is committed to doing its part and

In 2004, GSK says it produced and shipped $2 billion worth of medications, representing approximately 25% of total pharmaceutical shipments produced in Canada. Eighty percent of the medications produced at GSK’s Mississauga facility are exported, many to more than 70 countries around the world.

GSK says it will invest $1 million over five years in MaRS, the not-for-profit corporation that brings together best-in-class science, business and academic leaders to accelerate the rate of successful commercialization of new discoveries in Canada. GSK’s participation in MaRS brings research and development and corporate staff on location in the Banting Building.

In 2004, GSK says it invested more than $140 million in R&D activities in Canada, making the company one of the top 20 corporate contributors to R&D in the country.

Last year in Ontario alone, GSK invested approximately $22 million in clinical studies, representing more than 60% of GSK’s total investment in clinical research in Canada. The $6 million GlaxoSmithKline Pathfinders Fund for Leaders in Health Science Research is creating new research positions in medical schools across Ontario, helping to fight the brain drain and providing opportunities for Ontario’s talented scientists and researchers.