OBIO's Statement on the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force Report
OBIO® welcomes the report of the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force that was sent to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Industry last Friday. Congratulations to Co-Chairs Michelle Boudreau and Martin LeBlanc and the Task Force members on this landmark report that describes the challenges and opportunities facing us.
Canada has the research excellence, vibrant community of innovative companies and highly-skilled talent to be a global life sciences leader. The new report argues that now is the time for bold action to strengthen Canada's health sovereignty, grow a more competitive domestic life sciences industry and accelerate access to medicines.
The report highlights that while Canada has world-class research capabilities, fragmented systems, lengthy access pathways and challenges in scaling homegrown companies are limiting our competitiveness and investment attraction. The Task Force recognizes that Canada’s life sciences sector strengths include mRNA technology, radiopharmaceuticals, vaccines, cell and gene therapies, antimicrobials and artificial intelligence.
To build our domestic industry, the report calls for stronger support for translational research that would move promising discoveries from the lab into clinical development and commercial pathways. This support includes better coordination across research, health, innovation and investment systems; stronger industry-academic partnerships; and improved pathways to translate Canadian science into real-world health and economic impact.
The Task Force also highlights the need to scale Canadian-based life sciences anchor companies. While Canada has a strong track record of creating innovative biotech firms, too many struggle to access the late-stage capital, commercialization support and market conditions needed to grow into globally competitive companies headquartered in Canada.
The message of the report is clear: by aligning health, innovation, and industrial policy, Canada can improve patient outcomes while building a stronger, more resilient and globally competitive life sciences sector. OBIO® is ready to work with government and our partners and play our part in transforming our sector.
A timely complement to the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force report is this opinion "Canada has the science. Does it have the strategy to be a life sciences power?" piece co-authored by Dr. Maura Campbell (President and CEO, OBIO®) and Matthew Carlyle, CFA, ICD.D (President and CEO, adMare BioInnovations); Jason Field, (President and CEO, Life Sciences Ontario); Benoit Larose (Président-directeur general, BIOQuebec); Wendy Hurlburt, ICD.D (President and CEO, Life Sciences BC); Grace Lee Reynolds (CEO, MaRS Discovery District); Prakash Gowd (Interim CEO, TIAP - Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners); Véronique Dugas, Ph.D., MBA (Présidente et directrice Générale, CQDM); Maxime Pesant CPA, CFA (Vice-président, Placements privés et investissements d'impact | Sciences de la vie, Fonds de solidarité FTQ; and Stephanie Doyle (President and CEO, Montréal InVivo).
We are proud to partner with organizations from across Canada's life sciences ecosystem to jointly author an op-ed offering recommendations to help strengthen Canada's long-term competitiveness and position our country for future growth.