CASTL Partners with Moderna Canada to Ready Workforce at Laval Manufacturing Site

Montreal, QC (February 1, 2024) – The Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences (CASTL) announced today they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Moderna Canada to support biomanufacturing training for employees at Moderna’s new vaccine manufacturing facility in Laval, Quebec.

The MOU between CASTL and Moderna Canada establishes a collaboration to support Moderna Canada employees with customized Good Manufacturing Processes (GMP) training for biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Employees onboarding with Moderna’s Laval manufacturing facility will gain custom skills training that enhances Moderna’s internal training programs.

"Moderna is pleased to partner with CASTL on customized GMP training that complements our own efforts as we advance the operational readiness of our new Laval mRNA manufacturing facility," said Roger Ngassam, Manufacturing Site Head at Moderna Canada. "Fostering the appropriate expertise is an essential element of ensuring reliable domestic production of our mRNA respiratory portfolio for Canada."

CASTL is a national skills and training organization delivering a globally recognized curriculum to address the talent needs of the Canadian life sciences sector. In November 2023, with support from the Government of Quebec, CASTL officially opened its biomanufacturing training facility at the Angus Technopole in Montreal. The GMP-like facility contains state-of-the-art pilot-scale bioprocessing equipment that offers theoretical and hands-on training supporting skills development that are immediately transferable to the operations and workflows used in biomanufacturing. 

“Our customized biomanufacturing training programs respond to the industry demand for individuals who have the technical skills to enter, meet the needs and thrive in fast-growing companies, like Moderna Canada,” said CASTL Executive Director, Penny Walsh-McGuire. “CASTL is honoured to partner with a global leader like Moderna Canada in support of this significant investment in Canada’s biomanufacturing capacity.”

For more information on careers at Moderna Canada visit https://modernatx.eightfold.ai/careers/.

CASTL instructor-led training programs are now open for registration at their Biomanufacturing Training Facility in Montreal, QC and Charlottetown, PE. For more information visit www.castlcanada.ca.

 
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Media contact
Stéfanie Bolduc
Director of Marketing & Communications
stefanie@castlcanada.ca
613-794-1367

About CASTL
The Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences (CASTL) is a national skills and training organization formed to address the talent needs of the Canadian life sciences sector. Specializing in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, CASTL delivers on the economic and sectoral demand for individuals who have the technical skills to enter, thrive and meet the needs of the fast-growing Canadian biomanufacturing industry. With multiple GMP-like biomanufacturing training facilities, CASTL provides industry informed practical hands-on training, theoretical knowledge and e-learning. CASTL is the exclusive provider of the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) licensed training programs in Canada. Based in Ireland, NIBRT develops and delivers state-of-the-art training and education programs for the world’s leading biopharmaceutical manufacturing companies and partner academic institutions. CASTL is supported by National Lead Partner adMare BioInnovations and its adMare Academy. The adMare Academy is dedicated to providing the specialized training required to foster the next generation of highly qualified personnel who will drive the growth of Canadian life science companies. www.castlcanada.ca

About Moderna
Since its inception in 2010, Moderna has transformed from a research-stage company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across seven modalities, a broad intellectual property portfolio and integrated manufacturing facilities that allow for rapid clinical and commercial production at scale. Moderna's mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and auto-immune diseases. Most recently, Moderna's capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use and approval of one of the earliest and most effective vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderna has established relationships with government and commercial collaborators, which have allowed for the pursuit of both groundbreaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing. In Canada, Moderna has a 10-year strategic partnership with the Canadian government to enhance pandemic response capabilities. This includes building an advanced mRNA manufacturing facility for respiratory vaccines currently under construction in Laval, Quebec. Moderna is also committed to helping position Canada as a leader in mRNA research and as a leader in mRNA research and development with partnerships across the country. To learn more, visit: www.modernatx.com/en-CA