The Sanofi Plasteur Toronto facility is having an ongoing problem with contamination, which might affect the global supply of ImmuCyst, the drug for bladder cancer, said Health Canada on Wednesday.
The remark was made by the agency in a prepared statement it which regulators reported finding mold in what was supposed to have been an area of sterile manufacturing in the same building that ImmuCyst is manufactured.
A company spokesperson has said that Sanofi decided to stop its production and have the building repaired. That repair work is scheduled to begin soon. The plant in Toronto is the only one in the network of Sanofi that manufacturers ImmuCyst.
In June, Health Canada said that Sanofi had recalled all vials of its vaccine for tuberculosis because there was a concern it could have been contaminated when being produced. The vaccine from Sanofi for tuberculosis is the only one that is currently licensed to be used in the country. The recent move has left authorities scurrying trying to locate an alternative to the product produced by Sanofi.
Authorities as of yet have not been able to find an alternative. On Wednesday the Public Health Agency in Canada, who is in charge of finding a TB vaccine alternative, said they are using everything at their disposal to find a secure, safe replacement.
