Atlanta, Georgia

The first national roundtable on biotechnology held during BIO brought together political leaders from the federal and provincial levels. Co-chairing the event with BIOTECanada was Federal Industry Minister, the Honourable Tony Clement who was joined at the table by Ministers from PEI, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia. Industry representation included National Accord members and corporate industry leaders including Andy Sheldon of Medicago, Bert Friesen of Medicure, Paul Levesque of Pfizer Canada, Dawn Graham of Merck Frosst Canada, Paul Lucas of GlaxoSmithKline, Carlos Dourado from Schering-Plough Canada, Randal Chase of ImmunoVaccine Technologies and Daniel Billen of Amgen Canada.  Guests also included Investissement Quebec, and senior public officials and deputy ministers from provincial governments.

The meeting included a trend analysis presentation from Bio Century, a review of Beyond Moose and Mountains, and a general discussion on industry competitiveness and Canada’s opportunity to sell its biotechnology capacity.  The opportunity to meet and start a discussion on enhancing Canadian competitiveness for our industry was appreciated by all participants.  Each of the ministers referenced the need for ongoing dialogue at the federal and provincial levels to help build Canada’s biotech industry and secure the future of innovative technologies in the economy.