Alberta is known for its foresight and taking risks to pursue technological innovation

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By Tonya Costoff

The province's abundance of energy and
natural resources create a wealth that fuels Alberta's new economy, which includes the growth in the life sciences industry. The province has in turn created a number of funding bodies, which help to support research and development and commercialization. These funding bodies include the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Alberta Ingenuity Fund (Science and Engineering Research), Alberta Cancer Prevention Legacy Fund, AVAC Ltd. and IVAC.

Today Alberta is actually listed among the top four Canadian centres for life sciences research and industry. "The province’s economic base and low business cost environment make Alberta a 'must see' for research and commercial activity," said Suzana Krpan, Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, public affairs officer, communications.

The province boasts a number of successful companies such as CV Technologies, which announced in February that Health Canada has approved wide ranging new health claims for COLD-fX; Gilead Alberta acquisition, which happened in November 2006 as Gilead Sciences announced its acquisition of Degussa's subsidiary Raylo Chemicals Inc. of Alberta; Astra Zeneca Canada, which announced in March 2006 that it entered into a $10.2 million three year partnership with NAEJA Pharmaceutical Inc. and BioMS Medical Corp., which is engaged in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic technologies.

BioAlberta was created in 1998 to act as the central voice and organizing hub for the bioindustry in Alberta. This not-for-profit industry association advocates for, promotes and proactively facilitates growth of Alberta's bioindustry.

The Alberta Research Council is busy doing its part to help set Alberta apart by developing and transferring technologies for biomass feedstock development, conversion and utilization to create a globally competitive biorefining industry based on the province’s strengths in energy, agriculture and forestry.

"In the area of industrial bioproducts, we focus on biocomposites, bioplastics and pulp and paper programs to create biomaterials that are used in multiple applications," said Valerie Golka, communications advisor, Alberta Research Council Inc.

Genome Alberta has also been spawned in the last decade. It began as Genome Prairie in the spring of 2001 with nine projects and one platform valued at over $110 million. Due to the success of the research projects and the need to focus more on provincial needs, Genome Alberta was established in the fall of 2005. "We currently have five active projects led by Genome Alberta totaling approximately $38 million. A number of new initiatives are being reviewed," said Donna Coad, director, corporate communications, Genome Alberta.

In January 2007, researchers at the University of Alberta announced the completion of the first draft of the human metabolome, the chemical equivalent of the human genome. The metabolome is the complete complement of all small molecule chemicals (metabolites) found in or produced by an organism. By analogy, if the genome represents the blueprint of life, the metabolome represents the ingredients of life. This announcement represents a starting point for a new era in diagnosing and detecting diseases through the chemical makeup of the human body.

Ag-biotech remains very strong in both of Canada's prairie provinces. Saskatchewan continues to show why it has its reputation as an international leader in the agricultural biotechnology sector, and Manitoba isn’t far behind.

Nearly one-third of Canada's ag-biotech sector is clustered around Saskatoon.
The University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Research Council, Canadian Light Source Inc. and the National Research council provides extensive expertise as well as facilities to further Ag-biotech in the province.

Likewise, Manitoba enjoys a global leadership position in the development of cereal and oilseed crop varieties. The University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences is recognized for the leading role it played in developing Canola.

Saskatchewan is re-positioning agriculture beyond the traditional uses as provider of food and feed to encompass a wider variety of uses including as an energy sources, power generation, new chemicals and composites.

Says communications director for Ag-West Bio Inc Darcy Pawlik, "Saskatchewan is the lead province in exporting the opportunities presented by the bio-energy, bio-products and green energy sectors."

As it becomes increasingly more important to follow the mandate set by the Kyoto Protocol, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are well positioned in what may emerge as one of the leading life science sectors of the future.
Since its creation in 2000, Genome Prairie has steadily increased in size and influence in the prairies. With the 2006 opening of its Winnipeg office to compliment its head office in Saskatoon, the organization is now present in both provinces. To date, Genome Prairie has supported more than $120 million of research activity in plant, animal and human genomics.

While Manitoba boasts excellent agricultural resources, it has gained notoriety with its other dominant biotech activities including pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical research, development and production. In fact, the biotechnology industry has grown dramatically in the province the last 10 years.

Since 2002 Manitoba has enjoyed a growth spurt in terms of new companies (10.8%) new employees (35%) and an increase of 76% in revenues. At the same time, some of Canada's largest life sciences companies, Biovail, Cangene and Monsanto, have established facilities within the province.

The National Reasearch Centres Institute for Biodiagnostics in Manitoba performs research in collaboration with doctors, hospitals and research groups throughout Canada and internationally.

The province has also launched two new venture capital funds, CentreStone Ventures and Lombard Life Sciences, while investing heavily in new infrastructure development. In addition, Manitoba is making a move to establish a mid-continent knowledge corridor that will extend from Manitoba through the central United States and into Mexico. This collaboration should also enhance the provinces ability to compete.