Canada is globally renowned for its excellence in research and science, with a legacy that includes groundbreaking discoveries such as that of insulin. This strong scientific foundation attracts venture capital and private equity investors, who appreciate the reliability and proven success of Canadian science.

With world-class research and science, hundreds of biotech start-up companies and a strong global pharmaceutical presence, Canada’s biotech sectoris a growing industry that has seen significant development over the past decade. Take the Canadian vaccine sector as an example: Sanofi Pasteur operates its Research & Development (R&D), biomanufacturing and artificial intelligence (AI) facilities in Toronto. In Saskatchewan, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) is making significant strides via developing vaccines for poultry, cattle and swine.

Through Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy, the Government of Canada has invested $2.2 billion across 38 projects to enhance the biomanufacturing ecosystem. Key investments include $39.8 million for Biovectra in Prince Edward Island to expand mRNA and plasmid DNA manufacturing, enabling them to offer end-to-end manufacturing for mRNA vaccines.

The challenge for Canada’s biotech sector, however, is the lack of anchor companies at the core of the biotech industry. Anchor companies are large, well-established companies that are uniquely positioned to support the entire chain of the regional biotech ecosystem. These companies typically provide financial strength to the overall economic health of an industry, offer numerous jobs to attract talent, investors and additional businesses to the region. These key anchor companies typically invest heavily in collaborative research and development initiatives with surrounding start-ups, hospitals and academic institutions. According to a white paper (a research-based summary report) published by adMare BioInnovations in June 2023, no anchor companies currently exist in the Canadian biotech industry. However, several potential anchor companies are developing in Canada, including StemCell Technologies, CellCarta, BIOVECTRA and AbCellera. An example of an anchor company in Canada’s tech sector is BlackBerry in Waterloo. During its peak years, BlackBerry’s success brought significant attention to Waterloo, attracting local and global talents, investment, and fostering a culture of innovation. The company’s presence encouraged the growth of numerous startups and tech companies in the region, helping to establish Waterloo as “Silicon Valley North”.

To develop Canadian anchor companies in the biotech sector, adMare BioInnovations suggests in their white paper that early-stage entrepreneurs should adopt an anchor company mindset. Instead of aiming for a successful exit by selling their companies, they should consider all risk factors, from regulatory approval to market entry, to avoid significant mistakes that could undermine the company’s value. “Over the last 15 years, Canadian industry leaders have taken on major global risk to develop treatments to then sell off the final product or the company as a whole, as opposed to making a real long-term investment in the Canadian economy and taking a top spot, not only in research but in commercialization,” said Gordon McCauley, President & CEO of adMare BioInnovations, in an interview with thefutureeconomy.ca. He also pointed out in an interview with Techcouver that the emergence of an anchor company requires a vibrant innovation ecosystem: from significant basic research to an agile regulatory environment, as well as an access to a large pool of talents.

Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver have emerged as the leading biotech innovation hubs in Canada, supported by world-class research institutes and universities, venture capital availability and a wealth of highly educated talent. Despite these strengths, Canada’s biotech industry still significantly lags in their global impact compared to its research enterprise capabilities. A potential reason for this cap is the lack of anchor companies in the biotech sector. Given the right support and focus, a promising start-up could one day grow into a globally competitive, Canadian-based biotech anchor company.

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