See Why British Columbia’s life science sector is thriving.

British Columbia’s life sciences industry is a significant economic contributor enjoying a growth phase. Over 300 companies from biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical devices, medical technologies and digital health call British Columbia home. With 177,000 employees and $14.4B in direct GDP contribution, the life sciences industry is embedded in the larger life sciences ecosystem in the province, which brings together academia, health institutions, hospitals, government and industry.

Each plays a vital role in the commercialization of innovation. Our industry relies on academia for the discovery and development that our entrepreneurs use to fuel innovation. In turn, the rapid identification of commercial potential leads to an environment in which pre-clinical and clinical research can be performed within our health institutions and hospitals.

The government provides meaningful support for early-stage companies as well as the infrastructure relied upon to research and develop innovation.
To create a life science company, we need both entrepreneurs and a robust life sciences ecosystem, to help grow and mature commercial innovations.

In British Columbia, we have the ingredients to successfully and frequently, commercialise innovation. We are home to one of the most entrepreneur-rich regions in North America.
Developing companies is one of our strengths, and B.C. has more young companies with ten or more employees than anywhere else in Canada. We are also supported by one of the most active angel investor communities in Canada, in part due to the thoughtfully-conceived EBC (Eligible Business Corporation) and VCC (Venture Capital Corporation) programmes of our province. Our strategic advisor community has helped craft unique and value-creating deals. We have the experience and success of accessing public markets, with no less than six British Columbian companies having IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) during the past 24 months, with five of the six, now listed on NASDAQ. We have our governments, both provincial and federal, who have renewed their support of this
knowledge-based economy, (e.g., BC Tech Fund and the latest 2016 Federal Budget), that will fuel commercial development and advance our innovation to benefit the economy, and most importantly, patients.

1) We need synchronization of our efforts within the province to a greater degree and coalesce collective energies around clear priorities for the life sciences sector;

2) we need to continue to support the best and the brightest research translation to commercialization;

3) we need to constantly attract capital to fund the development of companies in one of the most capital-intensive industries;

4) we need to continually attract global talent to develop our community and grow our company’s knowledge and skill base; and,

5) we need to expedite access to innovation within the healthcare system so that those who need it most, namely British Columbian patients, can benefit first.

LifeSciences BC’s commitment is to continue to play a central role in achieving this success. We will continue to catalyse locally while connecting our community globally. This work is only possible with the support of our Sponsors and Members; for this, we would like to say thank you.

Our collective success is and will continue to be, rooted in our past. When future entrepreneurs of British Columbia’s life sciences companies look back on what we achieve in the next five years; they will hopefully be proud of the care and energy used to prioritize the development of our life science ecosystem.

Our ability to work collaboratively will establish the foundation of our future bio-economy, delivering not only economic value for the province, but better health for all British Columbians.

For more information, please contact:
LifeSciences BC
Suite 580 – 1285 West Broadway
Vancouver, B.C. V6H 3X8
Office phone #: 604.669.9909
http://lifesciencesbc.ca/