BIOSCIENCE
a destination for medical manufactur- ing and innovation. “We do great on the research side, but when it comes to commercializing that, it evaporates out of Manitoba and out of Canada. You don't need 100 businesses; you need a couple and it could change the fabric of your economy,” she says. “We’ve got to make sure we're known in Ottawa. We've got to make sure that when there are decisions to grow this sector, to protect this sector, that we're top of mind.” With 20 per cent of Canada’s bioscience students educated in Manitoba, it’s a matter of keep- ing those who are still training and those who have already established businesses here and united with a specific focus, such as fighting the next pandemic. “It’s a plethora of possibilities here that we offer; what we have to do as a province is get it together,” Pinto says. “We’ve got to all work together on the same side and we will present
Canadian sovereignty and defence as a Manitoba front.” Pinto believes growing the startup culture and small to medium business enterprises with common goals will create a next generation workforce that will make Manitoba its home. “We've got to have these fledgling startup companies and these little stars and pretty soon all of these stars will form a constellation, I’m con- vinced of it.” ■
and medical countermeasures has also been submitted to the Department of National Defence. “Manitoba is ideally poised and in position to respond to these threats, and we have expertise of working under adverse conditions,” he says. “Not alone, as we rely on our Indigenous guides who are advising the Canadian Armed Forces.” With Manitoba primed for biosci- ence growth, how will it effectively shift from the research and innovation phase into commercialization? According to Bioscience Association Manitoba’s road map, which examines the next five years and illustrates how our current strengths align with the global industry’s needs, clinical trials are one area to expand on. “We run probably a fifth of what we could be doing now,” Ladouceur says. Maintaining a strong pharmaceutical manufacturing presence in Manitoba is also important. Even a handful of successful companies could raise the province’s profile in the life sciences sector and help establish Manitoba as
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