Pharma’s future complicated in Canada: experts
Improvement not just about fiscal resources
OTTAWA • The federal Liberals spent big in last week’s budget in a bid to get more domestic bio-manufacturing for products like vaccines, but industry experts said it will take more than money to reestablish Canada as a major industry player.
Canada’s vaccine rollout has suffered from the country’s inability to produce vaccines domestically, with all of the shots going into arms currently being made somewhere else. This has left the country susceptible to export restrictions in Europe or America-first style policies or even complete bans as is happening in India where the country is dealing with a horrific new COVID wave.
Industry Minister François-philippe Champagne said he is confident industry and government can work together to reestablish Canada as a leader in bio-manufacturing.
“We are in a journey with a common purpose to make Canada a more significant player when it comes to the life sciences industry of the world,” he said.
That journey came with a $2.2 billion price tag that among other things includes $500 million over four years to the Canada Foundation for Innovation to help universities with capital projects related to research. It also provides $250 million to the government’s research councils for biomedical projects and $92 million to admare, an arm’s length firm that helps small companies scale up.
There is also $1 billion in the government’s strategic innovation fund set aside over the next seven years for bio-manufacturing projects. That money could be used for major deals like the government’s decision in March to spend $415 million on a new vaccine plant in Toronto with drug giant Sanofi Pasteur.
Champagne said the pandemic has forced every country in the world to consider its limitations when it comes to pharmaceutical manufacturing and Canada needs to be prepared to step up to the plate.
“The government has to be part of the equation, because obviously we’re competing with many jurisdictions in the world,” he said.
Pamela Fralick, president of Innovative Medicines Canada, said the funding in the budget is offering a lot for the sector and she is pleased the Trudeau government is finally engaging with the industry.
She cautioned, however, that the government’s move to further regulate and lower drug prices runs right up against the goal of setting up a flourishing and vibrant industry.
“You can’t do both. You can’t take 70, 80, 90 per cent off the bottom line of businesses and expect them to be really happy about investing in the country,” she said.
She said the government should also look at regulatory issues to clear red tape so companies that have developed new treatments can get them to market quickly.
She said the government’s goal of getting vaccines made in Canada is more complex than it might seem. Fralick said she is encouraging the government to think about supporting the whole industry from small startups to major players.
The Pfizer vaccine is a good example, she argues, because its supply chain is so complex that no one country could ever hope to produce it completely onshore.
“It’s 280 components, 86 suppliers in 19 countries. That’s what it takes to get this vaccine from bits and pieces if you will, into the arms of those of us here in Canada and around the world,” she said.
Andrew Casey, president and CEO of BIOTECANADA, another industry group, said he was impressed with the budget and said it is about determining how best to address other challenges.
“There is really significant investment into the sector, and now trying to figure out where all these pieces are going.”
He echoed Fralick in saying the government has to think not just about lowering prices.
“That relationship has to morph a little bit going forward, away from the pure pricing discussion and towards something that’s more holistic and benefits Canada in a broader way,” he said.
Casey said predicting the next pandemic or what type of vaccine will be needed is impossible to know, but if Canada has a diverse field of biomedical companies, there is a better chance the technology will be there to fight it.
“What you need to do is start to look at a broader landscape, invest in certain areas, and then grow expertise, knowing that parts of that will be really critical to what the next solution is going to be.”
Champagne said the government is looking both short and long-term when it comes to growing the industry, with short-term investments now, but with an eye to building a bigger industry over the long term.
He said Canada isn’t alone in trying to push pharmaceutical prices down, but he is open to more conversations with industry about some of the broader issues.
“There are some long term policy issues that warrant discussions, particularly following the largest, or the most significant, health and economic crisis we had in a century.”
WE ARE IN A JOURNEY ... TO MAKE CANADA A MORE SIGNIFICANT PLAYER IN LIFE SCIENCES.