AstraZeneca to expand research facility in Mississauga, create 500 new jobs

A new investment by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will bring 500 new jobs to Mississauga.

The company, known for being the developer of one of Canada’s approved COVID-19 vaccines, announced a major expansion of their research and development hub Monday. The hub focuses on clinic studies in areas such as breast, lung and prostate cancer; COVID-19; and chronic kidney disease.

They also announced the creation of another new hub focusing on rare disease research.

“This expansion will create 500 more good middle class jobs here in the GTA,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters. “AstraZeneca is making this announcement in Canada because we have the talent, expertise and scientific ecosystem a leading company like AstraZeneca is looking for.”

Trudeau also mentioned the importance of collecting data and sharing it across the country, something he says is the cornerstone of what his government is building in provincial health-care systems. A commitment to data sharing was one of the conditions accepted by the Ontario government in the federal health-care deal.

AstraZeneca says the Mississauga-based hub has doubled in size since 2019 and is leading more than 120 oncology and biopharmaceutical studies involving patients in more than 50 countries. The president of AstraZeneca Canada said the expansion of its facilities in the GTA will play a critical role in developing new medicines and potentially “curing complex diseases.”

Speaking to reporters Ontario Premier Doug Ford touted the investment, saying he was “thrilled” to welcome the expansion of a “cutting edge research facility right here in Mississauga.”

"This significant investment adds to the substantial investment that AstraZeneca has made in Canada since 2021 and will create 500 new, great paying jobs for Ontarians,” he said. “It will increase the number of clinical trials in oncology and immunology, helping to accelerate the development of innovative therapeutic drugs and vaccines for patients in Ontario, but also around the world.”

“This investment is a huge vote of confidence in Ontario.”

In 2021, AstraZeneca Canada invested about $135 million in research and development.