AdvaMed Investor Insights

Christine Charette, SVP Strategic Finance, OBIO offers her insights into the premiere conference for MedTech companies.

For the full PDF click here

Health Economics in the Medical Device Space

Thoughts from OBIO's own VP of Strategic Finance, Christine Charette, summarizing the topics relevant to startups at the 2016 AdvaMed Conference.

For the PDF article click here

RESI Conference and Digital Medicine Connect at Biopharm America: Part 2

Christine Charette, SVP Strategic Finance, OBIO shares her advice on navigating the Health Science Investor in Part 2 of the Combined Conference Insights on RESI Boston & Digital Medicine Connect at BioPharm America September 13,14,15 2016 

For the full PDF of the article click here

RESI conference and Digital medicine connect at Biopharm America

Christine Charette, SVP Strategic Finance, OBIO offers her perspective on the RESI conference and BioPharm America.

For a PDF of the full article, click here

Beyond Novelty: Adopting & Diffusing Innovation in the Supply Chain

“The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO) strongly believes that the supply chain of the future must incorporate a formal approach to creating pathways for the adoption and procurement of innovation, to benefit the people of Ontario from both a health and economic perspective.”

— OBIO submission to the MOHLTC's Healthcare Sector Supply Chain Strategy expert panel

Read our full submission to the Ministry of Government & Consumer Services' Healthcare Sector Supply Chain Strategy expert panel here.

Health Science Insider™ (OBIO Strategic Review: July 2016)

2016 has already been a productive year for OBIO as we push forward in our advocacy efforts, expand our Health Science networks and partnerships and continue to provide access to capital for Ontario Health Science companies in order for them to reach the next level.

Our bi-annual review aims to summarize OBIO's accomplishments over the past 6 months.   We use these pages to present our Health Science Industry Events, our Government Advocacy work at all levels of government, the OBIO Team, the OBIO CAAP Community and to keep you informed of substantial up-coming events. 

At OBIO we are committed to building companies, building the industry and an environment where businesses can thrive.  Every meeting, every event and every publication is strategically thought through to meet our vision and fulfill our mission.

Thank you all for being part of the OBIO Community!

Sincerely,
Gail Garland
President & CEO

For the full strategic review, click here

OBIO® Report Featured in Media Planet's Industry and Business Magazine

The article titled "From Opportunities To ROI – Adopting Innovation In Canada" focuses on the key recommendations in the OBIO report “How Canada Should be Engaging in a $9 Trillion Dollar Health Economy.” 

Click here for the full article

OBIO® Report: Canadian health industry competitive but doesn't stand out

The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization launched its East Region Report this week at Spartan Bioscience, giving the Ottawa firm an opportunity to showcase its newest device, the Spartan Cube.

OBIO is a not-for-profit organization committed to the development of an integrated health innovation economy for the province. Its report, How Canada Should be Engaging in a $9 Trillion Dollar Health Economy, was based on surveys and interviews with 125 CEOs of health science companies around the country. It makes recommendations aimed to ensure Canadians get the economic and patient benefits from being competitive in the global health market.

OBIO president and CEO Gail Garland called the industrial policy to build Canada’s health technology industry “complex” but said the federal government’s innovation agenda launched last week is a good start.

“We need a specific industrial policy to support the building of the health industry in Canada,” she said. “If we don’t capture that, there will be a decline in Canada. If we don’t have an industry here, we won’t be able to contribute to society, and there is a risk we won’t be able to afford important technologies down the road.”

In addition to the need for an industrial policy, the report also found that the potential to offset growing demand and rising costs through commercial enterprise and exports is a good reason for a strong health-care industry.

It found Canadian companies are relatively competitive but don’t necessarily stand out on the global stage. It also warned that the Canadian health industry is falling behind in areas such as cost of research and doing business, speed and agility, health data infrastructure, innovative market access processes, experienced labour force and access to capital for commercial purposes.

The report recommends creating an environment where health science innovations can thrive through market access and procurement policies and access to capital, supportive tax policies and experienced industry talent.

Ottawa-based Spartan Bioscience is an example of how Canadian companies can reshape the way medicine is practised through innovation.

The OBIO partner firm introduced the Spartan Cube at the report launch. The size of a coffee cup, the Spartan Cube can test for infectious diseases such as strep throat or water contamination such as the bacteria E. coli.

The device costs about the same as a personal computer, and the company said its goal is to eventually have a Spartan Cube in homes and doctors’ offices everywhere.

The Spartan Cube tests DNA samples on a device attached to a tablet or laptop. Spartan CEO Paul Lem said results are available in 25-30 minutes as opposed to the traditional two- or three-day wait with traditional lab-based testing.  

“This is going to be most effective in developed companies, because right now, even though we have the most money in health care, doctors are still guessing their diagnoses in patients and what medication to give,” he said. “This cube is going to tell doctors the right diagnoses and the right drug to give.”

Spartan Bioscience will exhibit the Spartan Cube at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo on July 29 in Philadelphia.

Maya Gwilliam, Ottawa Business Journal - For the online article, click here

OBIO Launches Report in the Nation’s Capital

OBIO initiated the Eastern leg of its Provincewide Tour in Ottawa to promote their recently released report “How Canada Should be Engaging in a $9 Trillion Dollar Health Economy”. The report is the output of interviews and surveys of 125 CEOs of Canada’s Health Science companies looking at the future of the global industry and opportunities for Ontario and Canada. The report makes recommendations to ensure Canadians derive the economic and patient benefits from competing effectively on the world stage.

Read the Full Press Release HERE

OBIO comments on Canada's Innovation Agenda

Tuesday in a joint announcement the Minister of Innovation Science and Economic Development, Minister of Science, and the Minister of Small Business and Tourism unveiled 6 action areas to build an innovative Canada. This is the first step in developing an inclusive action plan with the first phase focusing on public consultations during the summer months in conjunction with round-table discussions that will take place across the country. Central to the development of the action plan, the consultations will encourage participation from all sectors, this is a chance for the Health Science Industry to highlight the actionable solutions for the sector that will improve health outcomes and ultimately drive a return on investment for the Canadian economy.

For OBIO's comments on the report, click here.

PATHS TO THE FUTURE: HOW CANADA SHOULD BE ENGAGING IN A $9 TRILLION DOLLAR HEALTH ECONOMY VS. THE CANADIAN INNOVATION AGENDA

“It is encouraging to see our Federal Government willing to listen to all innovation sectors in order to develop a national strategy.”

— Gail Garland, CEO of OBIO

On Tuesday June 16, 2016 the first steps began towards the development of a Canadian National Inclusive Innovation Agenda. In a joint announcement the Minister of Innovation Science and Economic Development, Minister of Science, and the Minister of Small Business and Tourism unveiled 6 action areas to build an innovative Canada. This is the first step in developing an inclusive action plan with the first phase focusing on public consultations during the summer months in conjunction with round-table discussions that will take place across the country. Central to the development of the action plan, the consultations will encourage participation from all sectors, creating an opportunity for the Health Science Industry to highlight the actionable solutions for the sector that will improve health outcomes and ultimately drive a return on investment for the Canadian economy.

For a PDF of the full report click here

How Canada Should be Engaging in a $9 Trillion Dollar Health Economy

There are compelling reasons for a strong, Canadian healthcare industry:

•$9 Trillion Global Health Economy
•Revenues and exports from commercialized research outputs
•Diversification of Canada’s economy,
•Quality jobs for our highly educated workforce
•Improved patient care and outcomes
•Manage rising healthcare costs

Canada has opportunities but there are barriers to success.

This report presents industry’s solutions. 

How Canada Should be Engaging in a $9 Trillion Dollar Health Economy

Download Full Report (PDF)    Highlights    Press Release

Federal Budget Misses Opportunity to Scale and Grow Health Science Companies

The 2016 Federal Liberal budget contains funding to support a much needed Innovation Agenda and promises to build globally competitive companies. At the same time the majority of this funding is directed to incubators and accelerators, granting councils and public institutions to support basic research. In order to compete in the $9 trillion global health science economy, Canada needs to devote financial resources to health science companies at the next stage of development by investing in scale up, job creation and revenue generation. 

Click here to read the article online

OBIO Strategic Review: December 2015

An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.
Jack Welch

As we come to the end of 2015, OBIO is proud of a year that has been characterized by recognition and support from our partners and sponsors, new learnings from the extensive feedback we received during our industry consultations and a very busy schedule as we delivered on programming and advocacy work.

Click here to read the article online

OBIO Globe & Mail Op-Ed: Canada needs a strategy to reach its biotech potential

Canada has a well-known research sector and relatively strong infrastructure to nurture startups, but once biotech companies start to grow, they often stall and struggle for resources. They become focused on keeping the lights on instead of moving commercialization forward, or are forced to sell at bargain-basement prices. Large multinational firms face unpredictable investment returns due to a number of factors.

For the Canadian health-care industry to compete globally, we need a plan that addresses capital requirements, human resources, regulations, market access and long-term predictability.

As such, the development of a sector-specific industrial strategy should be a top priority in order to fully develop and build Canada’s health-care industry. In its current state, it is a source of significant untapped potential.

While the new federal government has voiced a commitment to fostering innovation, there has been no mention of specific initiatives aimed at bolstering the human health technology sector.

Yet, the World Health Organization estimates that $6.5-trillion is spent on health care worldwide annually, a figure that represents significant economic potential for jurisdictions with sustainable health-care industries capable of solution-driven R&D and product commercialization.

A robust health-care industry is a key pillar of any thriving knowledge-based economy; in Canada, it could create sustainable development and provide a solution to both demographic and economic challenges.

Without critical policy changes that provide a consistent framework within which to operate, Canadian bioscience companies will lack global competitiveness, losing the opportunity to create jobs and health-care solutions that could bridge the divide between economic development and health-care demands.

The Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization conducted extensive consultations with senior executives from both local companies and multinational enterprises. There is general agreement that Canada is not capitalizing on its full potential.

Canada’s layers of bureaucracy and lack of transparency and predictability at federal and provincial levels are seen to stymie investment and growth. Approaches to innovation adoption, reimbursement and procurement were seen as significant barriers; there are too many hurdles to make innovations accessible to patients, and the administration and delivery of health care is often inefficient. Further, there is a widespread feeling that Canada lacks trust and a collaborative approach between stakeholders.

There’s also a perceived lack of globally experienced industry talent. While eager graduates may be abundant, there are not enough seasoned employees with the global networks and experience required to take a product from science to manufacturing and revenues. As a result of financing challenges within the industry, Canada is experiencing a talent exodus as graduates and sector specialists move to where the jobs, security and dollars are.

The gravest concern among small- and medium-sized enterprises is the availability of appropriate capital dedicated to commercializing health science and building health-care companies. Solutions developed and commercialized here could be used to improve health-care outcomes and reduce the burden of health-care spending.

In January, OBIO provided three significant recommendations to the provincial standing committee on finance and economics, all of which were focused on furthering bioscience industry priorities: Build companies and a sustainable industry that will strengthen Ontario’s economy; employ the best-educated, most innovative workers in the world; and provide cost-effective health-care solutions.

If Canada is to capitalize on the potential in its biotech sector, we have to make it a priority and collaborate on a long-term strategy codified in a national industrial policy.