A B.C. medical device company is receiving up to $31.25 million in federal funding to pump into a $125-million expansion of its local manufacturing operations.
Kardium Inc. announced Thursday that the money from the federal government will help the company create and maintain 1,000 high-skilled jobs in B.C., and keep its intellectual property in Canada.
The Burnaby-based medtech firm is best known for making devices that aim to treat atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat) more efficiently.
Money from the federal government’s Strategic Response Fund will help Kardium expand its cleanroom production capacity from 500 units a year to 30,000 units to meet demand for its medical devices, according to an Aug. 27 news release.
Health Canada gave regulatory approval to Kardium's Globe Pulsed Field System last month. It also received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval last September.
The federal government also announced $68 million in funding for Evonik, a Germany-based chemicals company investing more than $150 million to expand its presence in B.C.
Evonik Canada Inc., which has its Canadian headquarters in Burlington, Ont., began its life sciences operations in Burnaby in 2016.
The investment will go toward the construction and operation of a Nucleic Acid Competence Centre, which will increase the company’s capacity to develop and manufacture next-generation mRNA vaccines and therapies. The project is expected to create 260 jobs in B.C.
