The biotech firm will build a 130,000-square-foot facility to produce therapeutic antibodies, within walking distance of its planned tech campus that will also include four office buildings in the city’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. (The Logic)

Talking point: The five facilities will span about 575,000 square feet as the biotech firm builds one of the largest headquarters for a tech company in Vancouver. The new manufacturing facility is partly funded by a US$125.6-million grant from the federal government’s Strategic Innovation Fund intended to help AbCellera discover COVID-19 therapies and prepare the country against “future health challenges.” Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement, “This is an important step toward improving Canada’s pandemic preparedness.” AbCellera, which attained unicorn status during its record-breaking IPO in December 2020, posted revenue that soared more than 4,200 per cent in its most recent quarter on the success of its COVID-19 antibody treatment, which is not widely used in Canada. It recently had a second treatment enter ongoing clinical trials.