Manitoba's life-sciences sector is open for business.

That's the main message that organizers of the fourth annual Business of Science Symposium want to express to influential leaders of industry in Winnipeg on October 27-28.

"We have a very strong life sciences research group in Manitoba, yet not a lot of experience in translating that into business," says Dr. Albert Friesen, Chairman and CEO of Medicure Inc. (TSX:MPH; Amex:MCU), a Winnipeg-based cardiovascular drug discovery and development company, and a member of the steering committee that founded the Business of Science Symposium.

"We thought we'd focus on encouraging people at the academic level to look at commercialization of their technology and the economic benefit it provides while exciting Manitoba's business community about life sciences and all of its opportunities."

Photo courtesy of Medicure, Inc.
Dr. Albert Friesen, who sits on the steering committee of the Business of Science Symposium, advocates sector's benefits.

The Business of Science Symposium provides an industry-specific forum to engage sector stakeholders through interaction, education, awareness and promotion of the province's capabilities.

Manitoba is home to 41 companies operating in the areas of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical research, development and production, as well as agricultural biotechnology.

The industry is complemented by 30 research-and-development establishments and 23 service firms that support the life-sciences sector, which has annual revenue in excess of $440 million.

While Manitoba has only four per cent of Canada's population, it sustains eight to 10 per cent of all national biotech activity in the areas of health, agriculture and environment, and 15 per cent of Canada's industrial biotechnology employees.

In total, it is estimated that 4,200 Manitobans are now employed in the life-sciences sector, prompting Ernst & Young to name Manitoba as having Canada's fastest-growing biotechnology sector in its Resurgence: Global Biotechnology Report 2004.

Friesen hopes the symposium will shine a spotlight on life-sciences opportunities.

"There is growing interest (in the industry), although there are still business leaders in other sectors who have yet to capture the excitement of life sciences. We want to open their eyes by providing a greater awareness of the large commercial opportunities that exist."

He adds that the benefits investors stand to gain come in more forms than simple dollars.

"If you look only at the medical applications of life sciences - curing cancer, diabetes and so on - you are now taking your business acumen and applying it where you get much more than just money in return."

Friesen points out that although venture capital is always sought after, the symposium is not really an event designed to attract external investors.

Patrick Moore

"We did consider that, but to be realistic, if you're talking about investors from New York, the world centre of capital, many of them won't travel to Winnipeg or to Toronto or Vancouver. Maybe over time, if you build a strong reputation and bring in companies from across the country you might attract them," says Friesen.

"But personally, I think it makes more sense to create the excitement in Manitoba's entrepreneurs - to train and teach them and then travel to New York to get investors' attention," says Friesen.

Douglas McCartney, Director of Life Sciences for Manitoba Energy, Science and Technology, says the symposium's steering committee of representatives from industry, academia and government provided direction and developed the content from global perspectives to information on specific investment and partnering opportunities.

"We set out to attract a serious contingent from the life sciences and business communities and also have a very good turn out from universities and high schools for our student-focused programs and career fair. We're the fastest-growing life-sciences sector in Canada, so we need to make sure that students are aware of the opportunities because they are the future of this industry."

McCartney says that for professionals looking to capitalize on the sector's growth with prospective partners, the Business of Science Symposium is a smart opportunity to gather a great deal of information and acquire a number of contacts over a short period of time. "It's an effective way of mapping out who we are and what we're about."

This year's delegates at the symposium will be invited to tour some of Manitoba's world-class life sciences facilities, as well as participate in discussions on business development, commercializing emerging technologies and other current issues affecting biotech companies.

Keynote speakers include Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore, Texas biomedical scientist and business leader Dr. Mary Pat Moyer and renowned global health expert Dr. William Foege from Washington State.

"Our ability to draw the calibre of speakers that we do is a testament to how people see us, and to be recognized as a player is significant," says McCartney.

The Business of Science Symposium is one of three major national sector events, along with the Ottawa Life Sciences Council's BioNorth Conference and Exhibition and an annual investment conference in Vancouver called BioPartnering North America.

"It's put us on the map," McCartney says, estimating that out of 400 to 450 delegates at the Business of Science symposium, approximately eight per cent come from outside the province, which suggests "that Manitoba's future contribution to life sciences will figure prominently beyond our borders."

Province's success stories propel life-sciences sector

Recently announced as the home of the new Public Health Agency of Canada, Manitoba is positioned to take a leading role in global sciences and technology advancements. The province's life-sciences sector is focused in the areas of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, neurosciences, metabolism and nutrition, cell biology and gene technology, plant breeding diagnostics and contract research.

Some highlights:

* Winnipeg's Cangene Corp., a world leader in specialty hyper-immune plasma and biotechnology products, was recently awarded contracts by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) to develop drugs to respond to potential biological attacks.

* The National Research Council's Institute for Biodiagnostics, located in Winnipeg, is the most advanced facility in Canada for studying and developing non-invasive diagnostic tools using magnetic resonance technologies (such as MRI).

* The Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health is the first and only global centre with level-four bio-containment capabilities for the study of both human and animal disease.

* The University of Manitoba's Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences is recognized for the leading role it played in developing canola (from the rape plant). The Cereal Research Centre at the university is Agriculture and Agri-food Canada's lead centre for cereal genomics.

* The Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, the National Centre for Agri-Food Research in Medicine and the Food Development Centre have been established to assist in the development and commercialization of functional food ingredients and natural health products.

* The Biomedical Proteomics Program seeks to connect basic biological, agricultural and biomedical scientists with those scientists developing instrumentation and analytical software.

(Source: Manitoba Energy, Science & Technology, Life Sciences branch.)

Web Watch: www.businessofscience.mb.ca.

- Barbara Chabai