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Life Sciences

From the identification of the muscular dystrophy gene, to discovering new ways of creating stem cells, Canada’s life sciences innovators are at the very forefront of discovery. Industry leaders are carving out global niches in biopharmaceuticals, medical devices and contract services—all thanks to Canada’s world-renowned research institutes and biotechnology clusters. Add on Canada’s 20-year patent protection, alongside its large pool of post-graduate and post-doctoral researchers, and the potential for innovation is limited only by our imagination.

With a significant and profitable healthcare market, Canada has become very attractive to life sciences companies. It is home to more than 390 pharmaceutical and 400 biotech companies that employed nearly 29,000 highly-skilled workers in 2007, making Canada the country with the third-largest number of biopharma firms in the world.

Biopharmaceuticals: Human health represents over half of all life science companies, 70 percent of all revenues and close to 90 percent of all R&D. Canada is globally recognized for: discovery and characterization of therapeutic molecules; genomics and proteomics platforms; vaccines and immunotherapeutics, regenerative medicine; and, stem cell research and drug formulation & delivery systems.
Medical Devices: Some 1,000 small and medium-sized firms employ 26,000 people in this sector in Canada. In 2007, Canadian medical devices companies generated total revenues of $4 billion and exports of $2.4 billion. Canadian firms benefit from our strengths in related sectors such as advanced materials, microelectronics, and telecommunications, among others.
Contract Services: Canada is home to high-quality contract research and manufacturing services utilized by the world’s top pharmaceutical companies. As a result, we have become recognized for: advanced services in drug formulation and delivery systems; clinical trials; manufacturing and packaging; design and manufacture of high-value medical devices; and, analytical services.