CALGARY, AB - Alberta Veterinary Laboratories Ltd/Solvet (AVL/Solvet) has received its Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Drug Establishment Licence (DEL) from Health Canada. AVL/Solvet has been manufacturing animal health products in Canada since 2015. Recently, Dr. Merle Olson and Dr. Barbara Olson took full ownership of the company and decided to move their office, manufacturing, and warehousing facilities to a larger facility in Calgary.
"Moving to a new location meant we could upgrade our manufacturing capabilities and provide the needed additional space to address the Canadian Animal Health industry's long-term needs. The challenge is that the new facility needed to be awarded a DEL by Health Canada before any products were produced and released at the new location," comments Dr. Barbara Olson, Co-owner and VP of Quality and Regulatory Affairs.
Acquiring a DEL involves a rigorous inspection process to ensure all the methods on-site can deliver animal health products to the highest standards relative to safety, quality, and efficacy. According to Health Canada, all Canadian pharmaceutical manufacturers must have a drug establishment license to fabricate, package/label, distribute, import, wholesale or test a drug as required under Part C, Division 1A of the Food and Drug Regulations.
"It's a comprehensive and detailed process to receive the DEL approval. I would like to thank our entire team, led by Barbara, for preparing for the review process. I'd also like to acknowledge Farm Credit Canada (FCC), Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Scotiabank and Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) for their assistance in getting our state-of-the-art facility up and running in record time," says Dr. Merle Olson. "I would also like to thank all the engineers, contractors and city inspector for assistance, advice, and quality workmanship in putting together this complex operation. The recent lack of vaccine manufacturing capacity and critical human and veterinary drug shortages in Canada has raised an awareness of the benefits of having Canadian manufacturing ability to address local market needs."
"Our government is here to support companies like Alberta Veterinary Laboratories as they look to grow and bring their products to international markets," said the Honorable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada. "Today's announcement is a significant step towards expanding manufacturing capacity for veterinary pharmaceuticals and products that meet the needs of the global agricultural sector, and I'm proud that our government is playing a role in this milestone."
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