CANADIAN LIFE SCIENCE
compiled by shawn lawrence
wHat’s tHe buZZ In
canaDIan BIOtech?
This marks our eighth ‘Hot Button Issue’ in which we try to get to the bottom of all the issues facing the biotechnology and life science industries.
Through our surveys, our goal is to engage you, our readers, in the hopes that you provide insight into the happenings in and around the biotech space. We listened to your responses and tailored much of the other editorial to what you said were the hottest topics in Canadian biotech. Turning back to the survey, this time around we divvied up the responses into two streams: stream one focusing on the Biotechnology Industry, including C-level execs, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, venture capitalists and other stakeholders; and stream two for researchers, innovators, lead investigators, scientists, research organizations and academia. While the questions may have differed from survey to survey, the responses showed that despite your various affiliations public, private and other, the majority share the same concerns, face the same challenges and are looking for solutions that will make Canada’s biotechnology sector stand out globally.
so wHat dId our readers Have to say about tHe Industry? C-Level Executives, Entrepreneurs, Investors, Service Providers, Venture Capitalists and other Stakeholders Results: Despite the financial challenges the industry as a whole is facing, there is a sense of optimism coupled with hope for new opportunities among those who took part in this survey. On the research front Canada is making its mark in such areas as DNA diagnostics, next generation sequencing, monoclonal antibody production, vaccine development and regenerative medicine. As such, the current state of research and innovation (more so the research side) was graded very well, with 17.9 per cent of the vote calling it excellent, 32.1 per cent describing it as very good and 25 per cent choosing the average option. Respondents point to the critical mass of quality research, the country’s legacy in such fields as regenerative medicine and medical breakthroughs such as insulin to back their answers. Likewise, many of your comments indicated that there is plenty of money going into research in Canada. Again the criticism was that the financial support just isn’t there for the development end of R&D. A good reflection of this is that our academic research in Canada is considered top-notch, but our innovation performance is facing constant criticism. For example, when The Science, Technology and Innovation Council released its report State of the Nation in 2010, it showed that research and development in Canada, specifically the latter was low by international standards. The fear is that in many instances just as companies are about to reach a point where they start to contribute to the innovation economy, but due to a lack of funds are forced to decide between closing-down or moving outside of Canada (or if they’re lucky being acquired by foreign interests). As one respondent explained, “this behavior would be akin to the Canadian government
paying for the construction of new oil wells, but then abandoning them and letting foreigners use them to pump out and mine all the oil without paying any (or only minimal) taxes to Canada.” It’s obvious then that industry is challenged by the lack of available capital. This is not surprising to us, as this message has been beaten to death over the course of our past seven hot button issues. Nothing has changed on VC front either with extremely conservative attitudes towards the industry prevailing. The industry is always at a disadvantage in dealing with the VC community, for starters biotech companies typically require more funding over a longer period of time compared to other knowledge-based industries, and it can be quite difficult to make VC’s understand the validity of these technologies. With these facts in
SR &ED IN THE BIOTECH INDUSTRY
T
he Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) program is valued at over $3 billion annually, and is a valuable, and often essential, aspect of any biotechnology company. The program requirements can however be challenging and costs related to implementation and maintenance of tracking practices can be burdensome if not handled effectively. At NorthBridge we pride ourselves in being a professional engineering firm with hundreds of clients across Canada and over 20 years of experience. With our expertise, NorthBridge is up to date on the latest industry standards and can work with you to reduce compliance costs. Here are some examples of projects related to the biotechnology field that may be eligible for the SR&ED program: • Efficacy/application of drugs, vaccines, gene, and stem cell therapies. • Medical or diagnostic devices or methods for improved detection. • Renewable energy resources from biological sources to reduce environmental impact. • Natural health products such as extracts, supplements, vitamins or minerals. • Applications/biocompatibility of biomaterials.
Contact us now for a no-obligation evaluation.
1-855-SRED NOW (773-3669) sred@northbridgeconsultants.com www.northbridgeconsultants.com/biotech
MARCH 2012 BIOTECHNOLOGY FOCUS 9
