Life Sciences

Join a biotechnology centre on the cutting edge of scientific excellence - make your next discovery in British Columbia, Canada.

Industry Snapshot

British Columbia is recognized as one of the most successful biotechnology centres in Canada. The life sciences industry in British Columbia:

• Employs over 12,000 people in public and private research roles.
• Includes more than 100 biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, many of which have emerged from B.C.'s globally-recognized research institutions.
• Is supported by annual public sector research expenditures close to $200 million per year.
• Contributes an estimated $482 million to the provincial GDP annually.

Our world-class research and development competencies are highly sought after, and biopharmaceuticals is B.C.'s most established life sciences sector. Strengths have been built around pioneering biopharmaceutical companies and research institutions that have helped earn British Columbia a reputation for breakthrough discoveries and leading-edge research.

• The most successfully launched product in medical history, Angiotech's TAXUS®coated coronary stent is now implanted in millions of patients worldwide, and annual sales have topped US $2.5 billion.
• The first treatment for age-related macular degeneration - the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 55 - was pioneered by Vancouver's QLT Inc. QLT's Visudyne was one of the most successful ophthalmology products ever, with annual worldwide sales topping half a billion dollars.
• The first in the world to introduce widespread pap testing, the BC Cancer Agency's cancer screening technique has reduced cervical cancer death rates by 74 per cent between 1955 and 1992. The BC Cancer Agency (BCCA) is a leader in disease management and cancer research with nine research departments conducting research into more than 100 types of cancer.
• Aside from the research at BCCA and B.C. universities, numerous private and public companies engage in the development of cancer treatments with OncoGenex, Tekmira, Celator, Zymeworks and others leading the way.
• The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) bridges the commercialization gap for promising early-stage technologies coming out of university research in B.C. The recipient of approximately $70 million in federal and provincial investment, the CDRD and its commercial arm, CDRD Ventures, guide and fund early-stage discoveries through the preclinical drug development process with the final aim of getting the projects to a license-ready stage. The CDRD brings together universities, including the University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta, the University of Ottawa, and the University of Tokyo. Corporate partners include Johnson & Johnson Inc., Pfizer and Roche.
• Researchers at UBC and the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have identified the gene that destroys brain cells in Alzheimer patients and those with Down Syndrome, opening the door to finding a drug to forestall dementia.
• The $43 million International Collaboration Repair Discoveries (ICORD) spinal cord research centre is the largest spinal cord research centre in the world, helping drive discoveries in neuroscience, along with the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, the Brain Research Centre, and companies such as Allon Therapeutics, Neuromed, Wex Pharmaceuticals and others. With 190 investigators, research at the Brain Research Centre focuses on neurodegeneration, looking for treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Multiple sclerosis, and vision disorders, along with the effects of strokes, neurotrauma and mental health and addictions.
• The BC Centre of Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is an international leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and its team of inter-disciplinary professionals is unique in North America for the integration of treatment, education, research, procurement and distribution of life-saving antiretroviral medications. In the 1990s, BC-CfE researchers were at the forefront of the effort to establish Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) as the international standard of care.
• Genome British Columbia's projects have attracted over 100 major international co-funders and partner organizations, including many multinational corporations, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, worldwide charitable foundations and top-tier research institutions. Genome BC manages a cumulative portfolio of over $450 million in genomics and proteomics research projects in areas such as human health, forestry, fisheries, agriculture, bioenergy, mining and the environment.

British Columbia has developed into the second most cost-competitive location for the medical device business in western North America.

• There are approximately 90 medical device and diagnostic companies in British Columbia ranging from early-stage prototype developers to mature companies with products on the market. At any stage of development, these companies are innovating at the edge of current technology and pioneering entirely new platforms for detection and treatment of medical conditions.
• In western Canada, medical device firms tend to operate in niche markets and develop partnerships with complementary firms, a business plan that is attractive to many foreign medical device companies as well as venture capital investors. Local companies that have created successful collaborations with leading international biopharma companies include QLT (with Novartis Ophthalmics) and Angiotech (with Boston Scientific).
• Key companies leading in medical device/diagnostics innovation include McKesson Canada, Ultrasonix Medical, Neoteric Technology, Response Biomedical, Pyng Medical, Neovasc, Kardium, among many others.
• Capabilities lie in medical imaging, cardiovascular, diagnostics, orthopaedic and homecare adaptations.

Competitive Advantage

British Columbia's competitive advantages in life sciences are based on our talented workforce, high-quality university education and research and development programs, government investment, strategic location and competitive business climate.

• Vancouver draws top-notch, international life sciences talent because of flexible immigration policies, its outstanding quality of life and strong research and development infrastructure.
• A fast-track immigration process expedites entry of highly skilled workers into their fields of expertise.
• The University of British Columbia (UBC) is Canada's patent powerhouse. UBC has spun-off more than 100 life sciences companies, creating more than 2,500 jobs and raising more than $2 billion in private investments.
• Simon Fraser University (SFU) ranks second in Canada in the number of start-up companies formed per $1 million invested in research and fourth in the number of U.S. patents issued per $1 million. SFU has generated some 70 spin-offs.
• The National Science & Engineering Research Council of Canada has invested more than $6 billion over the last 10 years in basic research, training the next generation of scientists and university-industry partnerships. The Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research was created in 2001 by the Province of B.C., investing $261 million to build first-class capacity in health research.
• In 2008, British Columbia's life sciences research community received approximately $60 million in federal funding to create four new Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research including:
• The Prostate Centre's Translational Research Initiative for Accelerated Discovery and Development (PC-TRIADD)
• The Prevention of Epidemic Organ Failure (PROOF)
• The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD)
• Advanced Applied Physics Solutions (AAPS)
• The life sciences sector benefits from its West Coast location, which puts it in easy reach of life sciences collaborators and sources of venture capital in Washington State and California.
• The combined federal-provincial corporate income tax rate of 25 per cent is lower than in every U.S. state and lower than all the G-7 countries. B.C. residents now pay the lowest personal income tax in Canada for incomes up to $119,000.
• Vancouver is home to the prestigious annual BioPartnering North America conference, which attracted more than 500 companies from 28 countries in 2011.

Tax Incentives

The life sciences industry in B.C. enjoys a number of additional business incentives:

• The federal Scientific and Experimental Development Tax Credit Program (SR&ED) provides Canadian companies with refundable tax credits of 35 per cent of eligible R&D expenditures up to $2 million per annum plus 20 percent of other qualified expenditures. Foreign companies qualify for a 20 per cent credit against taxes payable for eligible expenditures, but credits are non-refundable.

• The B.C. government provides an additional refundable 10 per cent tax credit against provincial taxes for eligible R&D expenditures for Canadian companies. Foreign companies qualify for the same credit, but it is not refundable. B.C.'s Small Business Venture Capital Act (SBVCA) provides resident and corporate investors into venture capital funds or eligible small businesses with a tax credit of 30 per cent. Individuals are subject to a maximum refundable credit of $60,000 per annum; corporate credits are not refundable.
• Through the International Business Activity Act (IBAA), B.C. has become the first in North America to grant companies a corporate tax refund based on revenue from life sciences patents (75 per cent up to $8 million/year), allowing commercially successful companies to re-invest in research and development at an accelerated pace. Eligible manufacturers also can receive an exemption from provincial sales tax on production equipment and machinery.
• Early-stage ventures are also eligible for support from the B.C. government's $90 million B.C. Renaissance Capital Fund.