Facilities
VIDO operates some of the world’s most advanced infectious disease research and vaccine development facilities.
Located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, our infrastructure brings specialized containment laboratories, animal housing, computational expertise, including quantum computing, and vaccine development and manufacturing together in one place. This integrated capacity allows VIDO to move vaccines and other medical countermeasures from discovery through preclinical testing, process development and manufacturing, strengthening Canada's domestic capacity to respond to infectious disease threats.
VIDO currently operates Containment Level 2 (CL2) and Containment Level 3 (CL3) facilities and is expanding to include Containment Level 4 (CL4) capacity and additional animal housing facilities.
Containment Level 2
VIDO's Containment Level 2 (CL2) facilities support infectious disease, immunology and vaccine research, including early-stage discovery and evaluation of potential vaccines, medicines and other medical countermeasures. Our CL2 capacity also includes animal housing and a 160-acre (65-hectare) research station supporting large animal studies.
Containment Level 3
VIDO's Containment Level 3 (CL3) laboratories and CL3-Ag animal facilities allow researchers to safely study pathogens that can cause serious disease in people and animals. This capacity enables VIDO to understand how pathogens cause diseases and spread and to develop and evaluate vaccines, treatments and other medical countermeasures for infectious diseases affecting human health, animal health, agriculture and food security.
Containment Level 4 (in development)
VIDO is expanding to include Canada's first non-government Containment Level 4 (CL4) facility, allowing researchers to safely study the full range of infectious disease threats, including emerging pathogens that require the highest level of containment.
Combined with VIDO's existing research, animal and biomanufacturing capabilities, CL4 will strengthen Canada's domestic capacity to investigate emerging biological threats and develop and evaluate the vaccines, treatments and other medical countermeasures needed to respond.
Vaccine Development Centre
VIDO's Vaccine Development Centre (VDC) is a Containment Level 3-capable, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-compliant facility that supports process development, scale-up and manufacturing of vaccines and other biologics.
The VDC supports multiple vaccine technologies and can manufacture commercial veterinary vaccines and human vaccines for Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials. Located alongside VIDO's research and preclinical facilities, it helps bridge the gap between discovery and manufacturing and strengthens Canada's domestic capacity to develop and produce medical countermeasures.
Advanced computing
VIDO's computational researchers use artificial intelligence, advanced modelling and high-performance computing alongside laboratory research to help understand pathogens and immune responses and identify promising vaccines, treatments and other medical countermeasures.
VIDO's computing capacity is also growing through its partnership with USask's Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications (quanTA). VIDO helped support the acquisition of USask's new quantum computer and will have access to the technology to explore applications including vaccine and medical countermeasure discovery.
Expanded animal research facilities
VIDO's new animal research facility is approximately six times larger than the previous facility and will significantly expand the range and scale of research we can support. Designed to accommodate a wide variety of species including ticks, bats, non-human primates, cattle and bison, the facility will help researchers study diseases affecting people and animals, develop and evaluate vaccines and treatments, and advance solutions that help protect livestock, agricultural production and food supply chains.
Did you know?
VIDO's high-containment facilities and activities are subject to federal requirements and regulatory oversight. VIDO's facilities use multiple layers of protection, including specialized facility design and equipment, operating procedures, employee training, testing and verification. Requirements become increasingly stringent at higher containment levels. Preventative maintenance is a key element in ensuring optimal facility operations. All mechanical systems include redundant capacity. This means that each key operational system has at least one backup.