The president of Novartis — a large health-care company — says growing demand for its products bodes well for future expansion in Prince Edward Island.
Tom Rossi told The Guardian that company facilities in the province are in a good position to grow due to the popularity of vaccines being developed in the province.
“I think the market for these types of vaccines is a growing one and a very interesting one so the potential (for expansion) is quite high,’’ said Rossi.
“And if the world wide demand (and) Canadian demand continues to increase at this rate we can certainly have good hope for continuing expansion here in P.E.I.’’
The company has added 18 employees to operations in the province in the last year, bringing the total number working for Novartis in P.E.I. to 72. The company is generating annual revenues through Island operations of between $40 million and $50 million, says Daryl Pint, senior manager of technical operations at Novartis Animal Health Canada Inc.
Novartis has research facilities in Victoria, P.E.I. and vaccine production facilities in the West Royalty Industrial Park. Also, Dr. Mark Fast was recently named to the role of Novartis Research Chair in Fish Health at the Atlantic Veterinary Centre (AVC).
“I think the folks here have done a splendid job,’’ Rossi said after completing a tour of the recently expanded vaccine production facilities in West Royalty Industrial Park alongside Premier Robert Ghiz.
“There’s a very strong nucleus of talent - most are Islanders. And we’ve recruited many people from different countries...I think this will continue to increase and let’s see how we can work with the government to make that even easier for people to come to P.E.I. and work here.’’
Ghiz told Rossi and Novartis general manager Dominique Giulini that the province “is open for business’’ in bioscience - an economic sector seen to hold great potential for growth in P.E.I. due to the province’s natural resources, its private sector and the research and education base at UPEI, Holland College and the AVC.
“As premier of this province, I really want to see this sector grow,’’ said Ghiz.
Rossi says Novartis is pleased the province is open for business.
“So if the environment continues to be conducive to doing business in P.E.I., which I have no doubt it will be, and if the business continues to expand the way it has I think that the outlook for the future could be very positive,’’ he said.
Pint says Novartis has given “total support’’ to the work being done in Prince Edward Island as the centre of excellence for all of aqua culture for the company.
Novartis has businesses in the areas of eye care, consumer health, vaccines and diagnostics, animal health, name brand pharmaceuticals and generics. The company employs 2,200 people in Canada.
Dear Badpaddy. If you had read the article properly, you would notice a couple of things. One is that Novartis is a health care company that has an income on PEI of $40,000,000 to $50,000,000...in PEI alone, employing 72 people and hiring more...and two...and more importantly than your comment about people living a healthy lifestyle....it manufactures vaccines for animals, not people. The Vet College supports the company as it stands to benefit through fish health research. I think this company is one that is here for the long haul as it has been here for years and years, operating originally under PEI Aqua Health. They hire well educated Islanders who are here because they like living in PEI and they are able to make a good salary working in their chosen field. Having a centre of excellence in aquahealth on PEI is quite a feather in our caps! So, Badpaddy, if you read this comment, what do you think now? Maybe all you've seen is companies looking for unsecured loans...but I doubt that is the case here!