Extending Elevating Evolving
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BioAlberta Annual Report 2013 Extending Elevating Evolving Table of Contents 2 Message From the President 3 Message From the Co-Chairs 4 Advocacy 7 Marketing 12 Industry Development 17 Financial Statements 27 Membership 2012-2013 28 Board of Directors 28 Staff 28 Consultants Extending Elevating Evolving 1 Message From the President Welcome to BioAlberta’s 2013 Annual Report and a year, in retrospect, that brought with it many opportunities to extend our reach, elevate our presence and evolve within a changing environment. As indicators globally start to show a renewed interest in the life sciences industry and financially the sector has started to rebound, provincially, our local industry is also showing signs of rejuvenation. A number of our companies have achieved the next steps in their evolution, including financings, partnerships and commercialization of technologies. And as the life sciences industry starts to gain more attention globally, providing innovative solutions to the issue of healthcare sustainability, new countries such as India and China are coming to the forefront as potential players within the sector. With this in mind, BioAlberta extended its reach this year, and, with a number of our member companies, we explored opportunities and potential collaborations at Bangalore India BIO, creating a platform from which to build on in years to come. BioAlberta was also present at the annual BIO International Convention, held this year in Chicago, along with a number of our member companies, in addition to a significant government presence, including Deputy Premier Lukaszuk and, for the first time, the Minister of Health, Fred Horne. BIO was also the venue for the International BioGENEius Challenge, a global event for student scientists. BioAlberta has been the Alberta regional coordinator for thirteen years for the Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada (SBCC) and this year, we were delighted to have an Alberta student win first place at the national SBCC competition held in Ottawa, following which the student went on to represent Canada at the International BioGENEius Challenge. It will be through events like these, and other focused initiatives, that we will elevate our presence both at home and away, promoting Alberta’s life sciences industry as the hub with which to do business. This last year has also seen a number of changes in the provincial landscape that have had both direct and indirect impact on our industry and its growth. We embrace these changes, as the province sets its goals on achieving excellence in research, innovation and commercialization. BioAlberta is also beginning a new chapter in its evolution. As the incoming President of the association, I look forward to working alongside you, our members, academia and government, as we collaborate to establish an environment that is conducive to achieving our goals. The success of the life sciences sector will be important to the future economic diversification of Alberta. We hope you will join us on this journey. Regards, Amanda Stadel President 2 BioAlberta Annual Report 2013 Message From the Co-Chairs Since BioAlberta’s inception in 1998 our industry has grown to include companies focused on biotechnology and it’s applications targeting human health challenges, medical device solutions for critical diagnostic and therapeutic needs, agricultural and industrial biotechnology applications driving production and economic benefits, as well as businesses focused on environmental and natural health subsectors. The evolution of our industry represents a growing demand for innovative products and technologies that will ultimately help address the challenges of an expanding and aging global population. Similarly BioAlberta has also continued to evolve and today our dedicated board members represent each of the main subsectors of the life sciences industry in Alberta. Our three pillars of activity – Advocacy, Marketing, and Industry development – are tailored to meet the business needs and interests of our members. The ongoing dialogue between our members and our association has established that our role remains as the recognized voice for the industry with our key stakeholder groups. Provincially, nationally and globally, we continue to advocate for a regulatory environment that ensures the continued growth of the life sciences industry, allowing the commercialization of innovative technologies that will improve the health of Albertans and citizens globally. On behalf of the Board of BioAlberta, we would like to extend our gratitude to all of our membership, our partners and our sponsors for your continued commitment and confidence in our association. We are passionate about this industry and remain committed to working with you as we begin a new year with new opportunities! Dr. David Cox Rick Smith Co-Chair Co-Chair Extending Elevating Evolving 3 Advocacy 4 BioAlberta Annual Report 2013 Evolving Policy Environment in Alberta BioAlberta’s Policy Committee was created to strengthen BioAlberta’s advocacy role in light of the evolving policy environment in Alberta. The committee is comprised of a dedicated BioAlberta is the and knowledgeable team that represents core industry sectors. Voice of the Life A comprehensive, succinct, four-themed advocacy platform was synthesized from industry’s input. It was then verified through an industry-wide survey. The following is a summary of Sciences Industry these key industry interests that will ensure an environment conducive to the Alberta Life in Alberta Sciences industry’s long-term success. The Advocacy Platform for Alberta’s Life Sciences Industry Support Life Science through tax-based instruments Introduce an Angel tax incentive Introduce flow-through shares Sustainable funding for research and commercialization Improve investment climate through globally competitive mechanisms such as matching funding models and enhanced venture capital environment Introduce an SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research Program) Advocacy Streamlined application process for all provincial life science funding programs Enhance established funding programs (i.e. vouchers, AVAC) Build a supportive environment for innovation and commercialization Better access to the local market for our companies Enhance technology transfer from universities, colleges and institutions Better environment for conducting clinical trials in Alberta Access to highly qualified personnel Funding programs for labour training to attract and retain highly skilled workforce for Life Science SMES Government and industry partnerships to increase availability of highly qualified personnel (eg. internships) Introduce life science in cross-curricular learning from grades 7 to 12 Streamline immigration efforts and programs to make attraction of qualified personnel easier 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Very Important Important Not Important Not Applicable Data from the Life Sciences in Alberta, State of Industry 2013 Report produced by Deloitte and BioAlberta. Data normalized for responses that were applicable to the respondents. Extending Elevating Evolving 5 Top Three Industry Issues Access to 1. Improving the investment climate through globally competitive Highly Qualified Personnel mechanisms such as matching funding models and enhanced In October 2012, Dr. Ray Bergstra, venture capital environment Co-Chair, BioAlberta Policy “Canada-wide, those of us in the innovation sectors must advocate for programs that Committee, presented the leverage public monies by private investment, such as the Alberta Enterprise Fund and committee’s findings to a global Federal VCAP programs, establishment of longer term (i.e., stable over multiple election audience at “Building Alberta’s cycles) government funding mechanisms, and an outward, global focus on determining Bioindustrial Talent Pool”, and implementing best practices in our industries.” a workshop hosted by the Dr. Shermaine Tilley, Partner, CTI Life Sciences Fund Biorefining Conversions Network. In Dr. Bergstra’s words, “Labour 2. Continuing to improve tax-based incentives for companies, issues are one of four key elements including Angel tax incentives and Flow-through shares of BioAlberta’s Advocacy Platform and certain targets for recommendations “One of the things to be most excited about in Alberta is the ability to get financing. When you look at how much money goes into the sector from private investors it’s hard have been identified within three key to claim the industry isn’t supported. Specifically I look at Innovative Trauma Care where areas namely education, professional our Angel group has almost $1.1M invested from 20 plus investors. development and streamlining immigration to increase the availability But there is no doubt we could see more. Four provinces now have an investor tax credit, of skilled people within the Life as well as a number of states in the US. Tech could be stimulated in the same way the Sciences Industry in Alberta.” energy industry was by the flow through share program.” Randy Thompson, Founder and CEO, VA Angels 3. Adding sustainable funding sources, such as a Small Business Innovation Research Program “Canada is known for strong early-stage R & D companies, and certain federal and provincial funding incentives for start-ups exist such as NRC-IRAP, SR&ED and Alberta Innovates Vouchers. Additional and more sustained funding programs are required to help bridge the funding valley of death and thereby expedite translational research and commercialization activities. The US