Government funding will support 250 jobs in health-care technology at a Mississauga-based company.
Hoffman-La Roche Limited’s (Roche Canada) Global Informatics division is creating a “Global Informatics Hub” with 250 new jobs in Mississauga, the company announced on Tuesday morning. Roche Canada is a biotech and pharmaceutical company based in Mississauga and Quebec.
“These are highly skilled technical jobs focused in innovative areas like artificial intelligence, machine learning, computational biology and data analytics,” said president and CEO of Roche Canada Pharma, Brigitte Nolet. “These roles are the future of health care. They have the potential to improve patient outcomes while reducing societal burden and significantly advancing medical research.”
The hub will drive innovation and accelerate the delivery of groundbreaking health solutions to patients across Ontario and beyond. It’s hoped the initiative will advance the company’s understanding of diseases.
Premier Doug Ford announced the provincial funding and praised the company’s expansion.
“Our government is pleased to support the growth of this Global Informatics Hub with a $3.5 million provincial investment that will create highly skilled, good-paying jobs and drive medical breakthroughs that will improve the lives of people throughout Ontario,” Ford said.
The total cost of the hub is more than $130 million over five years and follows the Roche’s 2020 pledge to invest $500 million in a new operations hub in Mississauga to oversee its global supply chain.
The expanded Global Informatics Hub will position Roche Canada among the top five informatics technology hubs supporting Roche’s global operations.
“We want to be the place that is home to medical breakthroughs, faster access to medicines and diagnostics, along with strong economic development,” said Nolet.
Canada hosts about 10 per cent of the world’s top AI researchers, the second-highest density globally, said Dr. Thomas Schinecker, CEO of Roche Group,
“That’s why we are proud to expand here, adding 250 bright new minds to our talented Roche Canada team,” Schinecker said. “Our partnership with Ontario couldn’t come at a better time. We’re entering a new era in health care. Disease burdens are increasing, putting immense pressure on health care systems everywhere in the world, including here in Canada.”
New technology is the future.
“Data and digital solutions are at the heart of this health-care transformation,” Schinecker said.
Nina Tangri, MPP Mississauga-Streetsville, said Mississauga welcomes innovative facilities.
“Mississauga is a place where industry leaders choose to build their companies because this is where medical breakthroughs are discovered and commercialized, and where innovation comes to life,” Tangri said.
Mississauga Deputy Mayor Matt Mahoney said the expansion and high-paying jobs will benefit Mississauga.
“What makes this announcement particularly exciting is the emphasis on bioinformatics, the intersection of the life sciences and data science, a rapidly growing field in which Mississauga is uniquely positioned to become a global leader,” Mahoney said.
See the announcement here and more about Roche Canada here.
