An Open Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from Canada’s Life Sciences, Research and Business Communities

A year ago, Canadians could not have anticipated how a new coronavirus would so profoundly change and disrupt their lives or harm them or their loved ones.

But even before the pandemic was declared and the first COVID-19 restrictions came in mid-March 2020, scientists were working on vaccines and treatments. Some Canadian innovators had already started developing them and contributing to the global effort. That’s how the world got the first COVID-19 vaccines in record time before the end of the year. They promise to be our ticket back to health, socializing with family and friends and economic recovery.

These vaccines are flagships of an exciting new era of medical innovation. We are mining genetic secrets to discover not just how to stop viruses but also to create new therapies and vaccines for some of our most intractable illnesses such as cancer, cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer’s disease among many others.

Canada can and must be a leader in this new era.

Prime Minister, we can work together – our companies, your government and the provinces, Canada’s researchers and health institutions, and the patient community – to ensure the life sciences ecosystem we built in Canada over the past 30 years can grow and be put to work even more effectively for the benefit of Canadians and our economy.

To succeed, we need to do both more and less.

More collaboration to solve for the pandemic today and future health challenges.

Less uncertain and complex regulations that are blocking our ability to move at the speed of science.

We can achieve this with a coherent life sciences strategy.

Now, more than ever, we need public and private sector leaders to continue to work together to address these issues and other serious challenges.

We applaud your government’s initiatives on biomanufacturing, but more needs to be done to create a competitive commercial environment for the full life cycle of health technologies: from labs to the frontlines of healthcare.

Building together a world-class life sciences sector will enhance Canada’s resilience in the face of challenges and ultimately help ensure our health and economic security.