Mr. Chair, hon. members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, good afternoon.
My name is Jean‑Pierre Baylet, and I'm general manager of the vaccines unit at Sanofi Canada.
Sanofi is an innovative global health care company. It is driven by one calling: Pursue the miracles of science to improve people's lives. We develop treatments and vaccines that change the lives of patients around the world every day, including here in Canada, but also in the world's poorest countries.
Sanofi has been firmly rooted in Canada for more than a century. Over the decades, we have built one of the world's largest vaccine research, development and manufacturing facilities in Toronto on a 54-hectare campus.
Today, Sanofi is on track to make more than $2 billion in investments in Canada by 2028.
As Canada's largest vaccine manufacturer, each year Sanofi protects over 7 million Canadians from infectious diseases and also exports to more than 60 countries around the globe.
We employ more than 2,000 people across Canada and help create thousands of associated jobs in many sectors. We provide work-study opportunities to over 100 Canadian students every year.
We invested $143 million in research and development in 2021, making us one of the top life sciences investors in the country.
With respect to COVID‑19, the partnership between the vaccine industry and public authorities has enabled Canada to achieve broad vaccine coverage, which contributed to reducing hospitalizations and deaths.
Sanofi has been one of the few companies to make its global manufacturing and supply network available to other companies so they can accelerate access to their vaccines worldwide.
This commitment to addressing urgent public health needs recently led us to make one of the largest investments in Canadian life sciences history, in partnership with federal, provincial and municipal authorities, to strengthen vaccine manufacturing capacity and national preparedness for future pandemics.
At Sanofi, we take the confidentiality of our business operations very seriously. We require confidentiality to be able to pursue our investments in Canada and abroad.
While we're committed to transparency, some of the information in the advance purchase agreement is very commercially sensitive. For this reason, the agreement includes confidentiality obligations, and Sanofi expects them to be met.
Strong intellectual property and trade secrets legislation are essential: They foster innovation and promote long-term growth.
The Auditor General's review and report on the COVID‑19 vaccine contracts provides an objective and independent assessment under the law, and it doesn't compromise business confidentiality.
Disclosing commercially sensitive information would set a dangerous precedent.
In closing, Sanofi is committed to Canada and the health and well-being of Canadians every day. We want to continue to advance health care innovation with respect for the confidentiality of our business operations and our ability to remain competitive in Canada and abroad.
Thank you very much for your time.