BIOTECanada, or the Industrial Biotechnology Association of Canada, is a Canadian

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

industry association based in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. It is an industry-funded membership organization composed of over 250 national and international

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

and

gene therapy Gene therapy is a medical field which focuses on the genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. The first attempt at modifying human DN ...

companies,

medical device manufacturers Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

, agricultural science businesses,

law firms A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

academic institutions Academic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university. Types * Primary schools – (from French ''école primaire'') institutions where children r ...

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

networks,

advertising agencies An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

insurance companies Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

and

financial services Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...

firms. BIOTECanada and the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

jointly administer the Gold Leaf Awards, presented annually to individuals and organizations who are deemed to have made significant contributions to Canada's biotechnology sector.

History

The organization was incorporated in 1987 as the Industrial Biotechnology Association of Canada.

Health Canada Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary unit ...

partnered with BIOTECanada in May 2012 to organize a summit on clinical and regulatory topics associated with

biosimilars A biosimilar (also known as follow-on biologic or subsequent entry biologic) is a biologic medical product that is almost an identical copy of an original product that is manufactured by a different company. Biosimilars are officially approved v ...

. The event was held in association with the International Alliance for Biological Standardization, and was observed by representatives from the

Patented Medicine Prices Review Board The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board () is a federal quasi-judicial regulatory and reporting agency in Canada with a mandate to protect consumers by ensuring that the prices of patented medication charged by manufacturers of patented drugs ...

and the

Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, or CADTH, is a Canadian national organisation that provides research and analysis to healthcare decision-makers. The organisation was established in 1989 by the country's federal governme ...

. Panelists included representatives from academia, regulatory bodies and industry, such as

UMass Memorial Health UMass Memorial Health (UMM Health) is the clinical partner of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the largest healthcare system in Central Massachusetts. It is a not-for-profit/nonprofit healthcare network providing all levels of pri ...

Janssen Pharmaceuticals Janssen Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Beerse, Belgium, and wholly-owned by Johnson & Johnson. It was founded in 1953 by Paul Janssen. In 1961, Janssen Pharmaceuticals was purchased by New Jersey-based American c ...

, the

Robarts Research Institute The Robarts Research Institute is a medical research institute at the University of Western Ontario. Staff scientists work to investigate a range of diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer. History The ...

Alberta Blue Cross The Canadian Association of Blue Cross Plans (CABCP; french: Association canadienne des Croix Bleue) is a federation of regional not-for-profit insurance providers in Canada. All providers that are members of CABCP, called "member plans", are in ...

, Mount Sinai Hospital and

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), commonly known as Sunnybrook Hospital or simply Sunnybrook, is an academic health science centre An academic medical centre (AMC), variously also known as academic health science centre, academic healt ...

. In 2017, BIOTECanada published a report detailing proposed initiatives to use biotechnology to address issues including

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

, and economic instability. President and CEO Andrew Casey sent a letter in July 2017 to

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; french: Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada; french: ISDE, label=none)''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal I ...

proposing measures to offset costs of patent filings, and to reduce taxation on intellectual property revenues. In June 2022, BIOTECanada hosted the Canada Pavilion at the BIO International Convention, an annual biotechnology conference led by the

Biotechnology Innovation Organization The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) is the largest advocacy association in the world representing the biotechnology industry. It was founded in 1993 as the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and changed its name to the Biotechnology ...

(BIO).

Organization

Partners

BIOTECanada is partnered with

Avantor Avantor, Inc. is a chemicals and materials company headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania. The company ranked 484th on the 2020 Fortune 500, based on its 2019 sales. History In 1904, John Townsend Baker founded the chemical company J.T. Baker. T ...

Borden Ladner Gervais Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (abbreviated as BLG) is a leading, full-service law firm in Canada. With almost two hundred years of history going back to the 1823 founding of McMaster Gervais, it now has offices in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Ottaw ...

Silicon Valley Bank Silicon Valley Bank is an American commercial bank. SVB is on the list of largest banks in the United States, and is the biggest bank in Silicon Valley based on local deposits. It is a subsidiary of SVB Financial Group. History Silicon Valley Ba ...

, and

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is an American international law firm that specializes in business, securities, and intellectual property law. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the firm provides legal services to technology, life sciences ...

. The organization is also a supporting member of BioTalent Canada, a professional network for the

community. It is also a member of the

(BIO), and a founding institution of Clinical Trials Ontario. It is a participating organization of the Virtual Biosecurity Center, an initiative of the

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...

Members

BIOTECanada's current membership includes: Former members include the Agricultural Institute of Canada, BioAlberta, Centre for the Commercialization of Antibodies and Biologics,

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

Genzyme Genzyme was an American biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since its acquisition in 2011, Genzyme (also known as Genzyme Transgenics Corp or GTC Biotherapeutics) has been a fully owned subsidiary of Sanofi. In 2010, Genzyme ...

, Innovation PEI, International Centre for Infectious Disease,

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

, Life Sciences Association of Manitoba,

McKesson Corporation McKesson Corporation is an American company distributing pharmaceuticals and providing health information technology, medical supplies, and care management tools. The company delivers a third of all pharmaceuticals used in North America and emplo ...

National Research Council Canada The National Research Council Canada (NRC; french: Conseil national de recherches Canada) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research & development. It is the largest federal research ...

, Pan-Provincial Vaccine Enterprise,

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

Sanofi Pasteur Sanofi Pasteur is the vaccines division of the French multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi. Sanofi Pasteur is the largest company in the world devoted entirely to vaccines. It is one of four global producers of the yellow fever vaccine. ...

Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in nine provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist Murray Koffler in 1962 ...

Specialty Health Network,

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

References

{{Reflist Biotechnology organizations Scientific organizations based in Canada Lobbying organizations in Canada