September 5, 2001 - Toronto

Life sciences conference BioFuture 2001
- Dr. Henry G. Friesen, Chairman, Genome Canada -

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Let me begin by saying what a privilege it is to be involved in such a distinguished event as BioFuture 2001. This Conference is fast establishing itself as one of the premier life sciences events of the year and I want to congratulate the organizers for all of their hard work.

I particularly like the series of "primers" that are on offer.They are a wonderful introduction to some of the key ideas and concepts and I urge everyone to take full advantage of them.

Let me also say what a pleasure it is for me to share the stage with Scott Patterson from Celera.Like many in this room, I watched with tremendous excitement when Craig Venter of Celera, and other members of the Human Genome Project, stood with President Clinton and announced to the world that a first draft of the human genome had been completed.

This extraordinary achievement was eloquent testimony to the simple truth that even if the obstacles to progress are formidable, the human impulse for exploration is unstoppable - a lesson confirmed by the exciting work which will be discussed at this Conference.

Today, I would like to speak very briefly about the opportunities presented by biotechnology, positioning it in the context of Canada's Innovation Agenda, and share with you how Genome Canada is helping to make Canada a major player in this exciting new field.

There is little doubt that we have now entered the age of biotechnology. As the title of this Conference suggests, we live in a "double helix world".And while the mapping of the human genome may have closed one chapter opened by Crick and Watson in 1953, it is just the preface to a story whose best parts are still to come.

I firmly believe that in no other field of human endeavour is the work more important, the possibilities more exciting, or the potential for humankind more beneficial than biotechnology.

As Scott will address in just a few moments, the business case for investing in biotechnology is truly compelling.

Here in Canada, the biotechnology sector boasts revenues of almost $2 billion - up 72 percent in just the past two years.Projections for the next two years are even more impressive, with revenues expected to grow by more than 100 per cent.Over all, the biotechnology sector is growing four times faster than the average of the G-7 economies.(Mind you, given the estimates for GDP and growth rates rapidly decelerating, this goal is less impressive than it was just a year ago).

In Canada, more than 400 biotechnology firms have sprung up in the last five years alone.And venture capital investment has increased from less than $200 million in 1995, to almost $1.2 billion last year.

All of this activity is already bearing fruit, with more than 370 products under development by Canadian biopharmaceutical companies as of January 1st this year.

Clearly, biotechnology is a growing force in the Canadian economy.Equally clear is that biotechnology has the potential to change our lives in dramatic ways.

Over the next couple of days we will get a sense of that potential.Whether it is new drug therapies, improved diagnostics, more targeted treatments, healthier foods, higher crop yields, or a cleaner environment, there is little doubt that biotechnology will fundamentally alter - and improve - the quality of our lives.

Biotechnology also embodies the very essence of the new economy, with a premium on innovation and imagination.These qualities are neither abstract nor theoretical - they can be measured in research conducted and patents registered.

Today, an incredible 84 per cent of all of the research and development in biotechnology done in Canada is done in the health sector.Think about that - 84 per cent of the R&D in just one sector!

Not surprisingly, biotechnology is also leading the way in patenting activities.In fact, patents in this sector are increasing by more than 12 per cent a year, compared to just about three per cent for the economy as a whole.

These activities are expected to grow - and grow exponentially in the years ahead.R&D activities, for example, are anticipated to grow by as much as 79 per cent over the next two years.

And these are just Canadian figures.When we also consider the explosive growth in the United States - and elsewhere - we begin to get an appreciation for the opportunities before us.

Make no mistake, biotechnology is the next Internet.And just as the internet entered and enlarged our lives, transforming the way we work, shop and communicate, so biotechnology will transform our understanding of health and how to improve it, disease and how to prevent it, life and how to enhance it.

Indeed, in so many ways and on so many fronts, biotechnology finds itself in the "sweet spot" at the intersection of science and economics.As we've seen, it is a creator of wealth and a generator of jobs, but it is also on the very leading edge of science.

And because it offers the potential to contribute both to the health of our people and the wealth of our nation, governments are starting to pay attention - and pay attention in a major way.

Here in Canada, for example, the federal government has created a Biotechnology Secretariat, which is coordinating the departments of Agriculture, Environment, Health, Natural Resources, Fisheries, Industry and International Trade in a concerted effort to reap the benefits of this field.

This Secretariat is part of the government's wider "innovation agenda" which seeks to foster a culture of invention and ingenuity.At its core, this agenda is about excellence: encouraging those who seek it and rewarding those who achieve it. And it is about generating wealth and opportunities in the new economy.

As you know, there is a clear link between innovation and productivity.Productivity, in turn, generates higher standards of living. Indeed, the data shows a direct correlation between the amount of innovation in a country and its wealth.

And this is what is so appealing to governments.This is what is driving the federal "innovation agenda".And this is what is leading to strategic investments in both research and innovation.

In recent years, for example, the government has established the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, with more than $3 billion invested in research infrastructure.It has financed 2000 Canada Research Chairs and created the Canadian Institutes of Health Research with an annual budget of $600 million.It has invested in the Network of Centres of Excellence, with $280 million in funding for 8 Networks in Life Science. And it has increased funding for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

In addition, the government has set the goal of placing Canada among the top five nations in the world in terms of R&D by 2010, and committed to doubling R&D investments over the same period.

Taken together, these initiatives are transforming the culture of innovation and research in this country.They are encouraging a new generation of dynamic entrepreneurs to combine their talents with the best scientists to create the Canada of the 21st century.And they bode well for the continued importance and profile of biotechnology in this country.

It was against this background that Genome Canada was created.

First announced in the federal Budget in February 2000, Genome Canada has received $300 million in funding to establish five Genome Centres- one each in the Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia.

These centres bring together industry, government, universities, hospitals and research institutes to pursue cutting-edge genomic research.They are focusing on a wide variety of genomic activities, including functional genomics, gene sequencing, genotyping, proteomics and bioinformatics.

In addition, each centre will conduct research on the ethical, environmental, legal and social issues related to genomics.

Let me just say that I believe this work- on the ethical aspects of genomics - is critical.People have very real concerns about where genomics research might take us and I believe we need to acknowledge these concerns honestly, address them frankly and explain them clearly, so that Canadians can fully participate in this important discussion.

As I mentioned, the 5 regional centres are grouped under the national umbrella of Genome Canada.That way, we can improve efficiency, avoid overlap, and focus on areas of greatest strength.

In many ways, we till fertile soil.There are already about 60 genomics companies in Canada and the research being conducted in universities and other institutions is among the most exciting and ground breaking of any in the world.For example, here in Toronto, Visible Genetics, one of the pioneers in pharmacogenomics, has developed an AIDS genotyping kit, which helps clinicians determine which drug is more appropriate to which patient.This is now in use in Canada, in France, in Argentina and is now in the final stages of review at the FDA.

Other genomics leading companies include MDS Proteomics and Intergrative Proteomics here in Toronto, SignalGene and Caprion in Montreal, Xenon in Vancouver.On the equipment side, Sciex here in Toronto who supply the mass-spec instruments that are fundamental to proteomics research, or CRS Robotics whose automation software is used in most of the top sequencing centres around the world.

These are only a few examples.What Genome Canada is doing is bringing it all together, in a coordinated way.

Genome Canada is a bit of a hybrid animal - not exactly a granting council, but not a venture capital company either.We invest in large-scale genomics research projects, not companies, and we take no equity positions.

This was deliberate: because our motivation is science, not profit, we can back projects which look the most promising, without worrying about an immediate return on our investment; BUT we do anticipate a return on the public investment and therefore expect the genomics centres, the scientists and their institutions to protect and commercialize any intellectual property generated by their research.

Funding is provided on a 50-50 basis.In other words, we supply half of the eligible costs, and the Genome Centres seek other funders to supply the other half.

Although less than two years old, Genome Canada is already making a difference.Last year, we held our first competition and after rigorous review, 17 large-scale research projects and five technology platform projects were announced.These projects are expected to involve 2000 researchers and technicians, and will provide training opportunities for over 700 students and post-doctoral trainees.Over 117 universities, hospitals, non-profit foundations, and companies will also participate in the projects.

The quality of these projects is absolutely first rate.

In British Columbia, for example, Dr. Victor Ling and his associates are conducting studies into the early stages of cancer - probing the way cells transform into malignancies through altered patterns of genes and proteins.By identifying mutations at these early stages, not only will we learn more about how cancer attacks the cell, we can also begin treatment sooner, increasing its effectiveness and the likelihood of success.

At Laval, Dr. Fernand Labrie and his team are engaged in a fascinating project on the effect of steroids on tissue samples.By understanding how steroids interact with various types of cells - from skin to heart tissue - we can determine how various products, whether they're cosmetics or pharmaceuticals, will affect them.

Part of the work involves creating an atlas of the interactions between steroids and tissues, which we hope will become the manual for all medical work in this area.

This project will likely have important implications for cancer research, especially for those cancers which are hormone dependent.These types of cancer feed off of the naturally occurring steroids produced by our bodies.If we can develop anti-steroids, which block these steroids from reaching cancer cells, we can starve the cancer and perhaps reverse its effects.

We currently have provided guidelines for application for the second round of funding and if the first round was any indication, there will be some very exciting proposals coming forward, including proposals from the industry.The private sector can indeed also put forward applications through any of the 5 regional Genome Centres, and, if accepted, forwarded to Genome Canada in competition with all other applications.

Genome Canada also wants to reach beyond our borders, to join international consortia and start new ones. We want to collaborate with others, wherever they may be, to conduct world-class research.And we want to raise Canada's profile as a leading member of the genomics community.

Just a few months ago, we signed an agreement with the Karolinska Institute of Sweden, to pursue joint projects in genomics and we hope this is the first of many such international agreements.

We also want to create a research environment second to none, so that our young researchers will be able to do their very best work, right here at home.And so that other researchers from around the world will be drawn to Canada.

Now there are some who say we should just leave it to others.Let the United States or some other country do the research and we'll adopt the results.

I disagree.We need to be involved in genomics because the opportunities are there, the jobs are there and, in a very real sense, the future is there.

Why do the research here in Canada? Why not do it here?Why let all of the benefits pass to other nations?Why not make Canada the place to be?Why not claim our place at the very front of this exciting new revolution?

Five years from now, we should aim to be second only to the United States in genomics. We should capture at least 10 per cent of the worldwide market for sales of biotechnology products.And venture capital investments, which now stand at about $1 billion per year, should be five times greater by 2005.

We should have at least one biotechnology company that stands among the top three in the world.

Quite simply, within five years when people think of genomics, we want a big red maple leaf to come to their mind; to make Canada as synonymous with biotechnology as we are with Mounties, mountains and maple syrup.

So that is our vision.That is the kind of future we see for Genome Canada.And that is the kind of future we see for biotechnology in this country.

Let me just close by observing that we are on the verge of discoveries and possibilities that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago - not only in genomics but in nanotechnology, proteomics, cellular biology, bioinformatics and dozens of other fields.

This Conference is about taking that science from the lab bench to the marketplace - ultimately to the patient at the bedside in the case of health products - marrying the science we pursue with the commercial opportunities it affords.

But it is about something else as well.It is about extending the frontiers of what is known and narrowing the scope of what is not.

Many years ago, maps of the world contained the words, "terra incognita" - unknown territory.But gradually, as brave men and women left the comfort of the certain and the safe, the unknown became known and the map of the world took shape.

Today, there is still terra incognita in the maps of human knowledge.And nowhere is the exploration more exciting - or more important - than in the area of biotechnology.

In the days ahead, I am confident that the Canadian flag will stand among those claiming new territories of knowledge for humankind.

The momentum is building.The opportunities are great.And the time is now.

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