COVID-19: Federal government announces plan to 'mobilize industry' to produce medical supplies

'This initiative will help companies that are already making things like masks, ventilators and hand sanitizer to massively scale up production'

Nationalpost.com
March 23, 2020
Brain Platt

The federal government has announced a plan to help Canadian companies ramp up production of medical supplies needed to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, manufacturers are waiting on Ottawa to say exactly how many ventilators and tests it needs before any major increase in production.

“We are launching Canada’s plan to mobilize industry to fight COVID-19, to ensure that we can quickly produce here in Canada the things we need,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference Friday morning.

“This initiative will help companies that are already making things like masks, ventilators and hand sanitizer to massively scale up production. It will also provide support to those who want to retool their manufacturing facilities to contribute to this fight.”

We’re focused on what we need to do right now

He added, “We recognize that the efforts that we are going through are unprecedented. These are historic times in which we need to do everything we can to support Canadians and mobilize all our efforts in smart ways.

“There are people who are talking about historical echoes, whether it was war time or the Great Depression, we’re focused on what we need to do right now.”

Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development, told reporters it’s a “coordinated strategy” that will “swiftly create pathways to deploy resources to Canadian businesses who want to help in this crisis.”

Bains said the plan will redirect many streams of government funding toward research and commercialization related to fighting the pandemic. He said companies looking to help can respond through a portal on his department’s website that went live on Friday.

“Funds will be deployed on an accelerated basis with wider flexibility to be able to tackle COVID-19 related problems through shortened applications and faster approvals,” Bains said.

“Our goal is to be over-prepared,” she said. “We are planning for the future by considering both current and anticipated needs as much as possible. For example, we have been able to secure 11.3 million N95 masks, which is over and above the order that we received for 7.3 million, with deliveries beginning immediately.”

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, also told reporters the federal government has ordered a further 550 ventilators, which are critical devices for patients suffering severe breathing problems due to COVID-19. Federal officials have not said exactly how many ventilators they have stockpiled, or how many the provinces have.

Government discussions are continuing with auto parts manufacturers and other companies whose factories could temporarily be retooled to produce necessary medical equipment.

“There are skilled workers out there who want to help and companies offering their facilities, and this is what our plan is about,” Bains said.

He mentioned three Canadian companies the government is working with to increase production immediately.

Medicom, a Montreal company that produces medical protective equipment, will start ramping up production of N95 masks.

Spartan Bioscience, a diagnostic equipment manufacturer headquartered in Ottawa, is developing a version of its portable diagnostic device to provide rapid test results for COVID-19. “If successful, its diagnostic platform and COVID-19 tests could be used in airports and in clinics,” Bains said. “The device could read the test result within potentially 30 minutes.”

Thornhill Medical, a ventilator manufacturer located in Toronto, is preparing to “rapidly scale-up their production,” Bains said.

Ottawa is still determining quantities and has not yet placed specific orders with Spartan or Thornhill. Once it does, it will take at least a couple of weeks to deliver the orders.

It will take Spartan about one to two weeks to prove its devices can detect COVID-19 and secure emergency regulatory approval for their use, CEO Paul Lem said in an interview. Spartan’s devices analyze genetic sequences and are used by customers including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lem’s company has the capacity to make 15,000 cartridges per week, but needs financing and solid purchase orders to ramp up its supply chain, he said.

People are just running around and trying to find what they can find

Thornhill has received a letter of interest from the innovation ministry and is ready to sign a contract with a third party to ramp up production as soon as it knows how many units the government wants, chief executive Lesley Gouldie said. She expects an answer over the weekend or by early next week.

Thornhill has about 40 employees and takes about one to two weeks to manufacture a single ventilator. Its ventilators are unique in that one unit combines a ventilator, an oxygen concentrator and a patient monitoring system. One unit has a suggested retail price of US$150,000, negotiable based on purchase volume.

The units were originally designed for military use and first rolled out commercially in 2012, Gouldie said. They’re transportable, and can be used relatively easily by trained medical professionals in remote communities or makeshift environments such as cafeterias or gymnasiums if a surge in ICU demand requires alternate locations.

Not unexpectedly, a lot of people from around the world have come knocking at Thornhill’s doors looking for ventilators, Gouldie said.

“We’re certainly going to prioritize Canadians,” she said.

No matter how Canada decides to procure ventilators, whether it’s buying them or retooling local factories, officials should place orders as soon as possible given atypically long delivery times due to a surge in demand, said Frank Fiorenza, product development manager at McArthur Medical Sales Inc., an Ontario-based supplier that procures equipment for hospitals and home care.

“It’s kind of like the toilet paper frenzy,” Fiorenza said. “People are just running around and trying to find what they can find.”

His company works with two ventilator manufacturers. One, Florida-based Airon Corp., just received a massive order from the U.S. government and cannot supply McArthur until at least June, while the other said Friday it would take ten weeks to fulfill an order placed today, said Fiorenza, who is also a registered respiratory therapist.

Even if Canadian auto parts and other manufacturers shift gears to make medical gear, Fiorenza doesn’t expect an overnight solution given training requirements and different standards to produce medical devices.

Major ventilator manufacturers include Germany-based Dräger Inc., Medtronic in Ireland, General Electric Co. and Hamilton Medical in the U.S., and Breas Medical in the U.K.

Canada also must decide what type of ventilators to buy and whether it will prioritize higher-end, harder-to-use equipment or one-size-fits-all devices more suitable for mass casualty scenarios.

Higher-end ventilators used in intensive care units cost between $30,000 and $50,000, mid-range machines used in mobile scenarios run at about $15,000, and lower-end machines cost about $10,000, Fiorenza said. At the lowest end is an AMBU bag, a manual device that looks like a balloon and requires someone to squeeze it. Those cost about $20.

Higher-end machines allow for more customizable care, but need a trained person to operate them. It takes three years of study to become a registered respiratory therapist. An untrained worker could probably figure out how to operate one, but “that’s like saying I watch HGTV about flipping houses so I could flip houses,” Fiorenza said.