Mississauga-based Microbix Biosystems Inc. created a quality assessment product (QAP™) to help ensure the accuracy of COVID-19 disease testing.

By creating this unique product, Microbix is contributing to the development of new methods and improved methods for SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) detection and is helping to improve the accuracy of existing protocols by providing reliable, whole-genome validation/verification and training samples.

The product is now available in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

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Philips has ramped up the production of hospital ventilators and plans to double production to achieve a fourfold increase by the third quarter of 2020. The company is mobilizing its global supplier network to step up support and production in this extraordinary situation.

Handheld and portable ultrasound solutions in particular have become valuable tools for clinicians treating COVID-19 patients due to their imaging capabilities, portability and ease of disinfection.

Philips ultrasound solutions have been approved in various markets for the management of COVID-19-related lung and cardiac complications, including in Canada.

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Biomérieux donated its reagent product formula to the Canadian National Microbiology Laboratory, so that Canada will be able to rapidly produce more tests for COVID-19.

This reagent is used in the first stage of test analysis that in which the biological material from the patient—the DNA—is separated from the genetic material specific to the virus.

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Abbott received Health Canada authorization under the COVID-19 Interim Order for the ARCHITECT SARS-CoV-2 IgG test, a laboratory-based serology blood test for the detection of the antibody, IgG, that identifies if a person has had the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

Antibody testing is an important next step to tell if someone has been previously infected. It will provide more understanding of the virus including how long antibodies stay in the body and if they provide immunity. This type of knowledge could help support the development of treatments and vaccines. This antibody test is in addition to Abbott’s COVID-19 tests in Canada that are being used on its m2000™ molecular laboratory system.

Federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand announced in June that a contract is now in place to buy 140,000 serology test kits from Abbott Laboratories. These supplies are critical to ensuring Canada has the supplies needed to conduct testing and track the COVID19 virus.

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As one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Canada, Cardinal has been working with urgency to support the increased demand for these critical products through the following actions: Proactively placing all PPE on allocation in January and lifted inventory in anticipation of increased demand, aggressively exploring and evaluating additional suppliers—domestically and internationally to gain access to pandemic products (without compromising quality standards), entering a new manufacturing agreement to bolster its supply of masks, and partnering with Health Canada on requirements for PPE licensing that may allow temporary access to new pandemic products from international manufacturers.

Cardinal received an e-mail late Saturday night before Easter from Public Service and Procurement Canada asking them to see if they could help secure testing swabs. By the end of the day on Sunday, they had found swabs that worked and we delivered them early the next week.

Additionally, Cardinal helped set up a pop-up hospital in Quebec in preparation for the pandemic and in partnership with the Quebec Ministry of Health, the company developed a process that would support their efforts to effectively allocate PPE items to the designated areas of need in the province ensuring health care workers and their patients were protected.

Toraymyxin® is a treatment for patients with endotoxic septic shock who are unresponsive to conventional therapies.  

The Interim Order allows the use of PMX to treat COVID-19 patients, particularly those with respiratory difficulties, in the presence of low blood pressure due to endotoxemia.   

Toraymyxin has been used in this and previous viral pandemics [H1N1] and showed improvement in chest x-ray results and lung function, and successful wean from mechanical ventilation.   

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Ventilators for Canadians (V4C), a consortium of Canadian entrepreneurs, has partnered with Baylis Medical, a Canadian-based medical device company specializing in cardiology and spine, to manufacture ventilators for hospitals across Canada.

The Baylis V4C–560 ventilator is based on Medtronic’s Puritan BennettTM 560 ventilator design, for which the intellectual property was made publicly available by the company. Medtronic has also provided Baylis with engineering support and assisted with licensing of the Baylis V4C-560 ventilator in Canada.

On June 17, V4C announced that it had received a Health Canada licence for this device, which means the manufacturing of the first 10,000-ventilator order can begin with the first shipment shortly after that.

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Dexcom G6 uses a small, wearable sensor and transmitter to continuously measure and send glucose levels wirelessly to a smart device or receiver, giving patients real-time glucose data without the need for a fingerprick. Dexcom’s unique technology also gives patients the ability to share their glucose readings with up to 5 followers.

Health Canada temporarily authorized the Dexcom G6 system for expanded use in hospitals, to help remotely monitor those who are critically ill during the COVID-19 pandemic. This will reduce caregiver interactions and exposure to COVID-19 in the hospital setting and help to preserve personal protective equipment.

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Hillrom has been working around the clock to ensure health care providers receive the equipment they need during this challenging time. Though demand has been substantial, regional teams across Canada are meeting the challenge head on.

Getting product into the hands of caregivers has never been more important; therefore, the company has ramped up the production of critical products and Hillrom representatives are preparing, servicing and delivering large orders at an unprecedented rate. Whether it’s a fleet of Progressa® beds for ICUs or an order of Connex® Spot Monitors to conduct frontline screening and diagnosis, the Hillrom team is doing everything they can to support frontline caregivers in their amazing work of treating an elevated number of patients.

Hillrom has fulfilled many large orders across the country to assist with the COVID-19 effort – and the image is just one example. It’s the resolve and determination of the entire Hillrom team, and their collaboration with health care providers, that facilitates the success of these deliveries.

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Southmedic is a Barrie, Ontario-based medical device manufacturer that distributes to more than 80 countries around the world.

The government of Ontario is providing $1.8 million to help the company reengineer and retool its current production and purchase new moulding equipment.

With this new equipment, the company will double its output of oxygen masks, triple its output of ETCO2 masks, which are specialty masks used to monitor breathing prior to ventilator use, and quadruple its output of eye and face shields to help meet the province’s need for PPE. The funding will also allow the company to reorganize its production facility to allow for physical distancing.

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