The Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee (CBAC) Host Roundtable in Vancouver

CBAC's mandate is to provide the federal government with advice on the full range of policy issues presented by biotechnology in its use in society.

More information on CBAC can be found at www.cbac-cccb.ca      

Carol Skelton, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification Hosts a BC Economy Roundtable

The Honourable Carol Skelton, Federal Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification hosted a BC Economy Roundtable on Tuesday July 11^th in Vancouver, BC.  The Roundtable was focused on regional economic development priorities for BC.   This was the Minister's first trip to Vancouver and we were honoured to have her host such an event. 

Twenty-two participants attended the event representing all sectors in BC.  Karimah Es Sabar, Executive Director of BC Biotech was pleased to be one of the representatives for biotechnology.  Other participants included Jock Finlayson, Executive Vice-President of the Business Council of BC; Dr. David Dolphin, CEO of BC Innovation Council; Dr.  Alan Winter, President & CEO of Genome BC and Dr. Don Rix, Chair of MDS Metro Laboratories Services.

National Biotechnology Accord Meeting Held in Halifax, Nova Scotia

The National Biotechnology Accord meeting coordinated by BIOTECanada, meet regularly to discuss opportunities and challenges facing each province in the biotechnology and life sciences sector. Association leaders from accross Canada met on June 26^th in Halifax, Nova Scotia to focus on the new federal governments' interest to consult on a science and technology strategy.   As a result of this meeting, the Accord team is planning to provide collective and coordinated input to the federal government this fall.

BC Biotech Supports Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD)

BC Biotech is pleased to have recently completed our Position Paper Building World-Class Biotech Businesses in BC – The Industry Position. This document was produced after extensive consultation with members of our biotech community, including our partners in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, and academic and research institutions. It will form the basis of BC Biotech’s advocacy efforts over the next year, and provide a roadmap for what we as an industry must do in order to ensure we reach our goal of becoming a world-leading biotech centre. We have already begun to hold meetings with key provincial and federal policy makers in order to gain support for the initiatives identified in the document, which fall under the following four areas:

• Accessing risk capital;
• Increasing critical mass;
• Improving market access;
• Adapting government infrastructure.

Over the coming months, BC Biotech will continue to focus our efforts on issues of top priority, and work with our partners in government, industry and academia to take the next steps in building our industry.

Please contact Sara Johnson at sjohnson@bcbiotech.ca to obtain of a copy of the full Position Paper.