Increasing Canada’s Competitiveness

Supporting Canada’s Farmers

The NCE program has contributed to Canada’s emergence as a global leader in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) science and surveillance—a disease that has cost this country’s beef industry more than $6 billion since Canada was confronted with its first confirmed case of BSE in May 2003. Through PrioNet Canada, the country has developed a national network of specialists working in this field and developed an Integrated Risk Management framework that is helping countries around the world fight BSE (also known as mad cow disease). PrioNet is also making progress on a prototype vaccine that triggers immune responses in healthy sheep to prevent prion-related infections.

Moving Prostate Cancer Drugs Closer to Market-Readiness

The Prostate Centre’s Translational Research Initiative for Accelerated Discovery and Development (PC-TRIADD) in Vancouver has developed a new model for commercializing post-secondary health research. The centre acts as a bridge between academia and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to conduct pre-clinical and clinical proof-of-concept studies. Its primary focus is on the mechanisms of late stage tumour progression and acquired treatment resistance. PC-TRIADD has already identified five key genes that cause prostate cancer to progress and licensed eight drug products to three local biotech companies. Some of those drugs are being tested in clinical trials.

Accelerating Stem Cell Outcomes Through Better Intellectual Property Management

The Stem Cell Network has standardized intellectual property licensing protocols from several universities into one common toolkit, covering everything from licences to non disclosure and material transfer agreements. The toolkit is a landmark achievement: national in scope, it spans hospitals and post-secondary institutions, bridges geography and languages, and was developed with participation from every major region of the country. These agreements are now being used by post-secondary technology transfer offices to facilitate transactions with stem cell companies and with companies in other technology areas.

Building a Critical Mass in Digital Media Expertise

The Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN) is bringing together the tool makers with the tool users, along with skilled workers and venture capitalists, to transform Canada into an international powerhouse for digital media. Based in Waterloo and Stratford, Ontario, the CDMN has partnered with Open Text Corp., Research In Motion, COM DEV International and others to nurture collaboration between Canada’s three digital media clusters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its goal is to see about 100 new companies created by offering commercialization support to researchers and entrepreneurs, including access to specialized technology services, business coaching, office space, venture capital and an entrepreneur-in-residence program.