Industry update News
Aqua tech centre closes deal on PEI facility

The Center for Aquaculture Technologies (CAT) has gained an additional 46,000 square feet of research ground in Canada with the purchase of a facility in Victoria, Prince Edward Island.

CAT  announced that it has finalized a deal to acquire the property belonging to Elanco Animal Health Incorporated. The facility includes an expansive, purpose-built, wet and dry lab space. The addition of the Victoria facility will triple the CAT’s Canadian footprint and expand the already best-in-class research services in Health and Nutrition, allowing the company to double the number of research trials conducted on an annual basis.

“We are experiencing exciting growth in our aquaculture Health and Nutrition Research Services business and have immediate plans for use of the facility.” said Dr. John Buchanan, the chief executive officer of CAT.“Expanding our footprint will allow our team to meet the demands of the global aquaculture community on a larger scale. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand our offerings and add to our world-class team.”

The facility is the only other privately held Aquatic Animal Pathogen Containment level 3 (AQC3/BSL3) certified lab space in Canada, according to CAT. Through it, CAT will oversee the largest amount of AQC3 certified square footage in the world, enabling the company to scale its research activities involving domestic and imported aquatic animals, and aquatic animal pathogens.

The Government of Prince Edward Island will support the project with a repayable loan of $4 million from the PEI Century Fund.

“The Victoria site has a long history of setting the gold standard for pivotal regulatory trials and innovation, and CAT is fortunate to have been able to acquire this state- of- the- art facility, along with several its staff who are well versed in operating in a quality-centric, highly regulated environment. This is a timely and exciting addition to the CAT facility network” said  Dr. Jason Cleaversmith.

Cleaversmith was recently hired by CAT as vice president of health and nutrition and the general manager of Canadian operations.