January 9, 2002

President's Report
- Martin Godbout, President and CEO -

The pace of progress at Genome Canada continues to match that of genomics itself: lightning fast and getting faster.

At Genome Canada, we understand that the velocity of change will only increase and that the world will not wait or pause for us to prepare. That is why we have continued to move decisively and act boldly; to seize the opportunities that are emerging and prepare ourselves to create new ones.

Today we are at the very early stages of our knowledge of genomics and proteomics, with only a basic understanding of plant, animal, bacterial and human genomes.

As we progress, we will be able to improve drug discovery by screening out the less promising compounds earlier in the process and better matching patients for clinical trials. This will lead not only to more products, but to better products. Doing so will require both excellent science and enormous amounts of capital.

During the past year, we held our second major competition and approved 34 new large-scale genomics and proteo-mics research projects worth $310 million, $155 million of which is directly provided by Genome Canada. Over the last two years, Genome Canada has invested more than $290 million across the country which, when matched by other funding, amounts to more than $580 million in 56 genomics and proteomics projects.

As in the previous competition, this year's projects were reviewed by a group of more than 150 international experts and scientists in order to ensure that only those of the highest standard received funding. The latest competition was marked by significantly higher levels of private sector and international participation. A complete list of the approved projects is contained in Appendix A. They range across many sectors, including agriculture, bioinformatics, environment, forestry, human health as well as new technology development. In addition, they explore the ethical, environmental, economic, legal and social (GE³LS) implications of this new field of science.

For the first time, Genome Canada is also taking a leading role in a major international genomics consortium: the haplotype map of the human genome. Without Genome Canada's investment, Canada would not have been able to take the lead in this project and we are very proud to have been instrumental in its formation. Approximately eighty percent of the selected projects have an international component involving researchers from other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden and The Netherlands.

In order to expand its international presence, Genome Canada signed an agreement with Genome Spain foundation to jointly undertake major genomic projects. This initiative builds on a similar agreement signed in June 2001 with the Karolinska Institutet of Sweden and will effectively leverage the resources Canada has invested. We have also entered into negotiations with other European countries and the United States, reflecting both the international scope of genomics research and our determination to stand among its leaders.

This year we brought together the Canadian genomics community through three different workshops in Human population Genomics, Bioinformatics and GE³LS. We also held the first annual Canadian genomics Conference, during which all of the Genome Canada project leaders from across the country come together to share insights and expertise.

Having established a strong foundation and developed world-class infrastructure, our focus now turns to identifying niche areas where Canada's leadership will allow it to build dominant positions in the marketplace. Doing so will require setting some aggressive goals. Canada is currently sixth in the world in genomics research. By the end of 2005, we should be third. In the same period, we should aim to capture at least 10 per cent of the worldwide market for sales of biotechnology products. Venture capital investments in life sciences, which now stand at about $1 billion per year, should be three times greater by 2005. At the same time, at least one canadian genomics company should stand among the top five in the world.

These goals are ambitious - but achievable. With the incredible energy and imagination of Canadian researchers, together with our international partnerships, we remain confident that we can build on - and indeed accelerate - the momentum created so far.

That is not only our goal but our challenge, because in the world of genomics, Canada must not be left behind, but play a leading role.

Martin Godbout
President & CEO

Back