CANADIAN STRENGTHS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATION

Project - Scan of Canadian Strengths in Biotechnology
Client - National Research Council Canada (NRC)

Description - Demonstrating responsible world leadership in biotechnology has been one of the ten key themes of the Canadian Biotechnology Strategy (CBS) since its creation in 1998. This position was reinforced in 2004 with the launch of the Government of Canada’s Blueprint for Biotechnology. The Blueprint emphasizes that “Canada's leadership, both domestically and internationally, requires that the new Stewardship Framework is supported by leading edge regulatory research, foresight, capacity-building in regulatory sciences, dialogue with Canadians, and international cooperation”, and recommends various initiatives to achieve the desired international impact.

There is a recognition in one of these initiatives that the knowledge harnessed from biotechnology advances has a powerful potential to address issues that are critical for the less industrialized countries, and recommends the establishment of a new national initiative for international development. This would facilitate the coordination of strategic research and technology development networks encompassing research centers in Canada and developing countries.

As part of this initiative, the NRC mandated Science-Metrix to undertake an environmental scan to identify Canada’s strengths in biotechnology in the public and private sectors, universities and hospitals. The scope of this scan includes both R&D and the innovation system supporting these activities.

The study enabled identification of R&D strengths in both non-health and health related biotechnologies. For example, Canada excels in the application of biotechnology in forestry, aquatic sciences, environmental sciences, animal sciences, diabetes research, hormone research, stem cell research and research on the musculoskeletal system. A review of the literature was conducted to identify the most significant individual scientific achievements in biotechnology, some of which are in the area of infectious diseases. Strengths in the Canadian innovation system were identified in relation to such aspects as “triple-helix dynamics”, technology clusters, technology incubators, commercialization support, intellectual property regulation, venture capital and tax incentives.

STUDY REPORT

	Campbell D., Côté G., Bergeron S. & Archambault E. 2005.
	Scan of Canadian Strengths in Biotechnology. Prepared for the National Research Council Canada (NRC) by Science-Metrix, 53 pages.
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