Evidence of meeting #95 for Health in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was medicago.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:45 p.m.
Vice-President, Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary, Medicago Inc.
I wouldn't say it's binding, but it's something the WHO can consider in its analysis. The treaty does contain exceptions for pandemic purposes. It contains a certain level of interpretation for the WHO.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
It contains a certain level of interpretation.
In your opinion, had there been no other vaccines out there available for COVID, do you think the WHO would still have not approved its use?
12:45 p.m.
Vice-President, Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary, Medicago Inc.
Yes, I think so, because the benefits would have outweighed the considerations for the tobacco industry.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
At the time, it actually came before the WHO, and there were many other vaccines. In that context, the fact that it was produced by a tobacco company became far more relevant than if there were no other vaccines, and this wasn't already being addressed.
12:45 p.m.
Vice-President, Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary, Medicago Inc.
Correct.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
I did not know that a relative of tobacco was used to produce the vaccine, which I find very interesting. The fact that Philip Morris International invested in this company perhaps could be seen as a fact that there are many tobacco producers around the world—for example, in Zimbabwe—and people with pretty limited incomes. Yes, although we would like to see nobody smoking cigarettes anymore, and I'm looking around the room.... I'm not sure if anyone here smokes cigarettes. I know of some people.
However, potentially finding more useful alternatives to the use of tobacco plants could be seen as being socially desirable in many poor countries where you have tobacco producers who have very limited income. Am I right? Perhaps as the company's CEO, this isn't one of the things you consider, but I'm suggesting there might be some social utility, in fact, in using tobacco plants for purposes other other than making cigarettes.
12:45 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Medicago Inc.
You pose an interesting question.
Pharmaceutical companies are using plants, but we are not selling the plant itself. We don't have any expertise or knowledge to expand your potentially very nice idea for that. I think I will leave that to other experts to comment on.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
The new company that's being formed out of the remains of Medicago—Aramis—is made up of former employees.
What transfer of your factory and your equipment has gone over to them, if any? Was it sold to them? What's the relationship between Medicago and the new company?
12:45 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Medicago Inc.
As you understand correctly, Aramis' leadership consists of our former employees. It is based in Quebec City.
We worked with Aramis for the transfer and the path of settlement to terminate our SIF agreement with ISED. We transferred our R and D manufacturing pilot plant in Quebec, our equipment and our intellectual property assets to Aramis at the request of ISED. That was a part of the settlement to terminate that agreement.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
This was kind of a three-way agreement between the Government of Canada, Aramis and Medicago in closing down Medicago.
12:50 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Medicago Inc.
We made the transfer to Aramis at the request of ISED.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thank you, Dr. Powlowski.
Ms. Vignola, you now have the floor for two and a half minutes.
12:50 p.m.
Bloc
Julie Vignola Bloc Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Tada, you said that the technology used at the North Caroline plant was not covered by the agreements.
What will happen to that technology? Who owns it now? Who has taken that technology?
12:50 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Medicago Inc.
Thank you for the question.
Our plants in North Carolina are relatively bigger commercial plants. It's not the core of the research and development and the IP. All IP is controlled by our operations in Quebec. We transferred our key R and D assets from the pilot plant in Quebec, our intellectual property assets and our equipment to Aramis, but the plants in North Carolina, which we are using for commercial production, are not a part of the transaction.
12:50 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Medicago Inc.
They are leased plants, so we are negotiating with landlords to terminate the lease.
12:50 p.m.
Bloc
Julie Vignola Bloc Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Do those plants use the same technology as is used in Quebec?
12:50 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Medicago Inc.
It is a plant-based vaccine manufacturing facility, with the same products and the same technology.
12:50 p.m.
Bloc
Julie Vignola Bloc Beauport—Limoilou, QC
If I understand correctly, someone other than Aramis Biotechnologies could use that technology.
Is that correct?
12:50 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Medicago Inc.
They can't really, because this is plant-based VLP. Even though we showed IP, it's not easy. They need established know-how to produce it. Even if you are given equipment or a building, no one can produce the product we produce, based on the IP and technologies.
The IP, which we have protected so far, has been transferred to Aramis. They own that IP.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sean Casey
Thank you, Ms. Vignola.
Mr. Johns, go ahead for two and a half minutes.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
You stated that you didn't tell the government about your Philip Morris partnership because it would make your product ineligible at the World Health Organization. Is that true?