A Technology Platform for Growth

Biotechnology?which could be described most simply as biology plus technology?is being embraced rapidly by the world?s most advanced countries. It can be applied to many economic and social sectors, and has the potential to improve our ability to treat debilitating diseases, clean up the environment, produce new goods and services, and compete internationally. Biotechnology is positioned to have as significant an affect on Canada over the next 15 years as the Internet has had over the past 15 years. Canada must be poised to take advantage of its socio-economic potential.

While Canada has the opportunity to capitalize on biotechnology, we face a paradox: we have enjoyed a history of good performance in biotechnology thus far?as this report details?but we are not well positioned for the future. We lack focus at the national level; our commercialization record has been weak; we have a limited ability to harness risk capital; and we have a critical shortage of highly skilled talent.