'Virtuous Cycle’: Vital to Canada’s Life Sciences Strategy

Over the past year, I’ve spilled much digital ink on the need to shift to value-based healthcare to deliver better health and economic outcomes for Canadians. I’ve spent so much time and effort advocating for this approach because I firmly believe that associated tools such as value-based procurement are thoughtful approaches to achieving the delicate balance between supporting a robust life sciences sector and navigating the budget challenges of caring for an aging population in a public system.

This article is the first of two that will cover what I call the Life Sciences’ Virtuous Cycle – three interconnected pillars that I believe are critical in advancing a robust Life Sciences Strategy:

1.??????? Innovative Ecosystem

2.??????? Innovative Manufacturing

3.??????? Innovation Adoption

For the country’s Federal, Provincial and Territorial life sciences strategies to really take off, we need investment in and adoption of innovation as a complement to the first two pillars that are already well articulated in many current policy positions.

Canadians deserve a thriving start-up ecosystem that retains homegrown talent and is consistent with the inventiveness that our researchers and entrepreneurs are known for the world over. An Innovative Ecosystem is a dynamic environment fueled by academic talent, clinician-researchers, venture capital, and government support, ensuring Canadian discovery occurs here at home.? Grass root and intentional innovation hubs backed by government funding and enabled by agile regulation, competitive patent policies and incentives are all hallmarks of such an ecosystem. We must foster creativity and bold invention to propel us to new frontiers in health. Many of these traits feature prominently in some of our Life Sciences policy, including Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy, but it’s important to stress that this is only one of three interconnected pillars.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been much discussion around “on-shoring” manufacturing in the Life Sciences sector to ensure we have a robust supply for domestic consumption. Investing in leading-edge, made-in-Canada manufacturing is another important component of a robust Life Sciences strategy. While important, where the vision falls short is in our ability to move to become a self-sufficient producer versus a reliant consumer of life science products and technologies. While this is possible in countries at the scale of the U.S. or China, the economics don’t make sense here in Canada. We simply don’t have the domestic market potential to drive self-sufficiency – we lack the scale. However, if we invest in Innovative Manufacturing capabilities in the domains of robotics and personalized medicines such as cell and gene therapies, and more importantly, integrate them into the global supply chain, Canada can become a strategic player in tradeables. As emphasized in the Public Policy Forum’s publication, The Next One, this will help Canada assert leverage to maintain continued access to critical goods during future crises within global supply chains, and help prepare us for the next health emergency. These concepts also appear in various Life Sciences strategies, including Ontario’s Taking Life Sciences to the Next Level. ??

With these first two pillars duly contemplated across Canada, I am optimistic that the sector will build resilience. Existing policy aims to support start-ups by improving access to clinical trials, streamlining regulations, and providing incubation services while enabling innovation through a best-in-class regulatory system. It also focuses on bringing more advanced biomanufacturing to our shore…the goal to attract top companies and researchers to innovate and operate here in Canada.

The success of our Life Sciences sector, however, lies not just in these two tenets, but in the interconnected third tenet of Innovation Adoption. In my next article, I will explore this critical third pillar of the Virtuous Cycle, why it matters to our overall resilience and the obstacles we must overcome to integrate new technologies, methods, and practices into our healthcare system. Until then, I invite you to join the conversation and share your ideas on how Canada can better support a thriving domestic Life Sciences sector.