PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND BIOSCIENCE CLUSTER COMING OF AGE

Rose FitzPatrick
Manager, Marketing and Communications
Prince Edward Island BioAlliance

While still maybe not as much of a household name as Oprah, many working within Canada’s bioscience sector would acknowledge that the Prince Edward Island Bioscience Cluster has become an important component of Atlantic Canada’s growing and diversifying economy.  Over the past decade the Prince Edward Island Bioscience Cluster has tripled in size, employing almost 1200 people and generating more than $124 million in annual export sales. With a growing group of 38 companies, expanded research organizations, aligned government partners, and growing international networks, the Chair of the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance says that he expects to see an acceleration of the growth in revenues and job opportunities in the years ahead.

“We have really established a solid foundation of technical capacity and successful companies here in our region,” says Dr. Russ Kerr. “The private-public partnership that we have in place has been an essential part of our success to date.”

Prince Edward Island companies range from contract manufacturers for pharmaceutical products, to businesses developing natural health products and functional foods, personal health care and cosmetics, to whose working on neurological diseases, and therapeutic and diagnostic technologies for human, animal, and fish health. The local Cluster includes some innovative startups like Island Abbey Foods, Neurodyn Inc., and Somru BioScience, as well as some of the world’s most highly regarded bioscience companies, including BioVectra, Novartis Animal Health, and Sekisui.

An ambitious multi-year strategy for the growth of the local Cluster is currently being executed that could provide 1500 jobs and generate more than $200 million in annual revenues by the end of 2015.

The Cluster’s focus on the research, development, and commercialization of bioactives-based human and animal health and nutrition products has produced tangible results.  This strategy, developed and coordinated by the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance, has prioritized the Cluster’s choices as they relate to research platform development, company attraction, human resource development, infrastructure priorities, and support services. 

Growth of the local industry in 2013 has come in threes. Over this past year alone, Prince Edward Island has experienced the expansion of three of its largest biotech companies - BioVectra, Novartis Animal Health, and Sekisui, while three early stage companies moved to the next level of infrastructure growth; Somru BioScience Inc. - moved from its lab space at the National Research Council’s (NRC) Industrial Partnership Facility to its new home in the West Royalty Industrial Park; Solarvest Inc. - now operates out of its new research and production facility in Summerville, PEI; and Halibut PEI recently completed a 20,000 square foot expansion of its land-based aquaculture facility in Victoria, Prince Edward Island. Over the past year, three companies were successful in raising significant private investments.

Significant investments in research infrastructure are advancing Prince Edward Island’s position and accelerating success in attracting new companies and human resources to the province.  In 2013, the National Research Council Canada announced its Natural Health Products Program supporting Canadian companies developing natural health products and functional ingredients, using the expertise and equipment at a network of NRC facilities across Canada. During this time, The University of Prince Edward Island completed the expansion of its aquaculture research facilities at the Atlantic Veterinary College and Holland College expanded Canada’s Smartest Kitchen to help small and medium-sized businesses test and develop food products for consumer markets.

The BioCommons Research Park located in Charlottetown is home to Island Abbey Foods’ new 12,000-square-foot manufacturing operation and OmniActive Health Technologies’ R&D facilities. Both of these companies have enjoyed considerable growth and successes over the past year. Moving forward, the Prince Edward Island Bioscience Strategy proposes the development of a Bioscience Commercialization Accelerator within the Park to provide local companies the infrastructure, business incubation and scale up services necessary to realize their development and commercialization goals.

Establishing hiqh quality, bioscience-based conferences in Prince Edward Island has helped attract the attention of global companies, researchers, and investors. In 2013, the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance and partners hosted two major international conferences – both focused on areas of expertise and growth within Prince Edward Island’s bioscience industry: VetHealth Global 2013– the International Animal Health and Nutrition Business Conference, one of the only animal health conferences of its kind in the world, and the Biotechnology and Human Health Symposium, which annually attracts world- leading researchers and businesses focused on the treatment of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS. The BioAlliance will once again host the Biotechnology & Human Health Symposium in Prince Edward Island July 13-15, 2014.

Prince Edward Island BioAlliance Executive Director Rory Francis says people are one of the keys to driving the Bioscience Cluster forward. “One of the challenges within a rapidly growing industry, such as our bioscience sector is to keep up with the increase in demand of qualified human resources - in management, technical, process engineering, and scientific knowledge areas,” says Francis. “Programs, such as Holland College’s two-year bioscience technology program, the University of Prince Edward Island MBA Biotechnology Management stream, and a proposed new engineering program at the University of Prince Edward Island, are important initiatives to develop the local talent pool, and we have very successfully recruited nationally and internationally when the required skills are not available locally.”

Francis says that the PEI Bioscience Cluster has established an outstanding innovation ecosystem that has become very good at helping early stage companies commercialize. Now the Cluster wants to quickly build on that momentum and reputation. “It’s a global competition for market share, capital, and bright minds,” says Francis, “but Prince Edward Island is on that global map, and we intend to keep it there.”