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Canada’s Global

Nexus for
Pandemics and
Biological Threats

If history teaches us anything about
infectious diseases, it’s that there will
always be a “next” biological threat.
And while that may be inevitable, the
subsequent human and economic
devastation is not.

That’s why McMaster University has
created Canada’s Global Nexus for
Pandemics and Biological Threats
– leveraging its national and global
leadership in infectious disease
research, its tradition of evidence-
based solutions, its world-class roster
of interdisciplinary experts and its Innovation and
network of partners across universities,
governments, and not-for-profit commercialization
organizations – to ensure the world
is better prepared. Canada’s Global in Southern Ontario
Nexus brings together researchers from
multiple disciplines to improve disease
surveillance, vaccines, rapid diagnostics all those advantages are what brought regenerative
and testing, crisis management in medicine innovator CCrm to Hamilton and
long-term care, antimicrobial resistance, to miP where collaboratively they will build a
,
disease detection and modelling, public biomanufacturing campus. that is a major step in
policy, and public trust and education. a $1.75 billion plan to grow the footprint of miP by
2.8 million square feet in the next five to 10 years.
Under the leadership of infectious this will include custom-built biomanuacturing
disease expert Dr. Gerry Wright, Canada facilities and global centres of excellence and
Research Chair and global expert in the conversion of existing facilities to offer
antibiotic resistance research, Global opportunities for earlier-stage companies to scale
Nexus will make its home at McMaster their business.
Innovation Park.
“miP is at the heart of the future of Hamilton’s
life science cluster”, said alex muggah, Director,
The new 350,000-square-foot facility Synapse life Science Consortium. “it demonstrates
will provide space and infrastructure all the pieces are in place to commercialize local
for pharma-grade drug screening and research, capture national and international
production platforms, ambulatory investment and establish Hamilton as a leading life
clinical space and biosafety Level 3 sciences cluster in Canada and globally.”
facilities.
the vision of miP to become a globally recognized
“This is Canada’s chance to seize the life sciences mega-hub, is underpinned by the talent
moment,” said Wright. “This initiative generation engines of mcmaster University and
will recruit global talent, boost global mohawk College.
health security, train graduate students,
provide jobs and economic growth and all the competitive assets of Hamilton are
make Canada a global destination for coalescing at a time of a generational change for
investment and innovation.” the city, built on its strong foundation in education
and health. Hamilton is growing rapidly, and is
expected to reach a population of 750,000 by

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