Regional Overview
Want to know about biotechnology in specific regions in Canada? This is the place. Download information about Canadian biotechnology coast-to-coast.
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island’s Bioscience Cluster is a leading center for bioactivesbased research, product development and commercialization for human, animal and fish health and nutrition. PEI has established an outstanding collaborative environment of business, research, academia and government organizations working together to build a strong bioscience-based economic sector in PEI.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is home to more than 50 life sciences companies with close to 500 products competing globally. In addition to those already in the marketplace, industry has a rich pipeline with more than 300 products at various stages of development.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick’s strong R&D and knowledge assets, coupled with abundant forestry, agriculture, and marine resources, are spawning an innovative bio-industry cluster. With plentiful forestland and proximity to the sea, New Brunswick is a world leader in tree improvement and the development of "green" technologies for forest pest protection, as well as a global leader in the development of "green" fish therapies, fish brood stock and new species for aquaculture.
Ontario
Ontario has a vibrant biotechnology sector with strengths in the bio-medical, pharmaceutical, medical devices, agricultural-biotechnology and bioproducts fields, and is sixth in North America in terms of revenues earned. Most start-up companies (70%) are created from science developed at universities and both provincial and federal governments are promoting commercialization. The recently opened MaRS Discovery District in Toronto is dedicated to accelerating the rate of successful commercialization of new discoveries in Canada.
Manitoba
While Manitoba has only 4% of Canada’s population, it is home to 8% of the national biotech activity. The industry is characterized by a strong entrepreneurial spirit, with recent start-ups representing more than one-third of existing companies. In fact, Ernst & Young’s Resurgence: Global Biotechnology Report 2004 ranked Manitoba as the fastest growing biotechnology sector in Canada. The province also recently became home to the Public Health Agency of Canada. (www.lsam.ca)
Québec
Québec is spearheading genomics research in Canada and has solid research infrastructure, of which the Biotechnology Research Institute (BRI) and the McGill University and Genome Québec Innovation Centre are the cornerstones. Nearly 30% of Canada’s biotechnology companies across all sectors, and 30% of Canada’s medical biotechnology companies in the human health sector (therapeutics, biomaterials, diagnostics, genomics and proteomics) are located in Québec. (www.bioquebec.com)
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan researchers and companies are using biotechnology to grow hardier and more productive crops, understand how infectious diseases work, and develop cleaner sources of energy from grains, oilseeds and forest waste. Saskatchewan boasts two world class universities and research parks. Innovation Place, located adjacent to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, is one of North America’s most advanced research parks for agriculture, genomics, pharmaceuticals and bioproducts. The University of Regina and Regina Research Park are generating environmental research and technologies that have attracted international attention and investors. (www.agwest.sk.ca)
Alberta
Various players in Alberta have laid the foundation for a successful bioindustry. Companies in the province are working in areas that will have tremendous impact on health, agriculture, a wide variety of other industries, and as a result, on the overall economy. (www.bioalberta.com)
British Columbia
British Columbia’s Biotech Cluster is… Made up of approximately 100 companies; The 7th largest in North America (Ernst & Young, Beyond Borders 2006); Home to 16 public companies which are collectively profitable (E&Y Beyond Borders 2007), and which have a market cap. of approx. $3 billion (based on market data accessed at globeinvestor.com); Anchored by three of the world’s first profitable biotech companies… QLT, Angiotech and Aspreva; Primarily home-grown companies, spun out of BC’s research institutions such as the University of British Columbia, which is ranked 9th in North America and NUMBER ONE in Canada for producing high quality patentable research (The Scientist, 2005); (www.lifesciencesbc.ca)
