Remarks to The Economic Club of

By:

Leslee Thompson

President and CEO of Kingston General Hospital

and

Chair, Council of Academic Hospitals of (CAHO)

September 23, 2013

MaRS Building

Toronto

I’d like you to imagine, just for a moment …. • A world where a virus could be used to treat cancer; • A world where surgery doesn’t mean cutting through your skin; • A world where children diagnosed with cystic fibrosis live long and healthy lives.

These aren’t stories of science fiction – they are real and they are happening today. Right here, In Ontario.

And they are happening, because people like you made a choice. A choice to invest in top talent, and big, bold ideas.

Choices like these are literally changing the world.

So, what investments do we need to make to ensure our health research and innovation engine grows and continues to deliver phenomenal results?

And what exactly does the value proposition for investment in health research and innovation in Ontario look like?

I am going to answer those questions for you today.

I am proud to stand before you as a representative of the thousands of scientists and highly skilled professionals who work in Ontario's 24 research hospitals.

I’d like to thank Rafi for introducing me, the Economic Club for inviting me, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce for co-sponsoring today’s luncheon …. and MaRS for providing this wonderful venue.

What do my partners and co-sponsors have in common? And what might all of us here today accomplish if we work together in new ways?

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A good place to start is with a shared vision. A vision for building the best health care system in the world while at the same time, contributing to the growth of Ontario’s economy.

Next is to take that vision and make it happen. That’s where the rubber really hits the road.

… But if we power our path toward that vision with the right people, the right questions and the right investments, it will be possible.

At CAHO, we know that there is a new value proposition and bottom line for investment in health research that benefits Ontario’s economy and, the health care system.

Our community of 24 research hospitals, located across Ontario’s regions—north, south, east and west—are engines of invention and discovery that are making a profound difference to individuals and populations.

In fact, 80% of publicly funded health research takes place in our hospitals.

Why? Because that’s where patients are. The patients who inspire us to ask everyday: How can we care for you better? How can we find a cure?

Ontario has a globally renowned health innovation heritage and this has made our lives better over many generations—from insulin and Pablum to stem cells and genomics.

But we can’t rest on our laurels; we need to move forward and take even bolder steps -

…To make sure the discoveries of tomorrow are developed today ….To drive innovation, productivity and better health outcomes for patients in EVERY part of our health care system,

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…. To make our economy stronger, more dynamic and more competitive.

So knowing what we have to do, let’s look at the challenges before us.

Everyone in this room knows that health care makes up the largest proportion of our provincial budget.

This means that we all have a stake in getting more from our health care system – we have to make it work better.

In fact, I would argue that it is our collective responsibility to make sure that people of Ontario get the best value for the money spent.

Of course, value is a balancing act between quality and cost. We must do well on both fronts - increase the quality while at the same time, reducing costs.

If productivity is the cure; innovation is our treatment.

This applies to health care as much as it does to business, industry, finance.

Having worked in both the public and private sectors myself, I know we have much to learn from each other on what works and what doesn’t.

The word transformation is used a lot these days – probably too much – but it does capture the spirit of big change.

And big change, doesn’t just happen - we all know from experience and from research, that the new ideas we are counting on to drive transformation will need landing gear, as well as wings.

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Support and resources are critical for our future success.

So is a shared commitment to grow Ontario’s economy. Here is why.

Our world has changed. Ontario’s economy is now a services economy. Our competitiveness is a function of leveraging and exploiting knowledge in everything we produce.

To be competitive, we need to be more productive. To be more productive, we need to increase our capacity for innovation.

This starts with increasing R&D investment in both the private and public sectors.

And translating the innovation we produce into viable solutions to improve quality of life and meet market demand. Tackling Ontario’s innovation challenge is not the responsibility of any one entity or sector. We’re all in this together.

Consider this: In 2011, Canada ranked 11th out of 41 OECD economies in R&D investment in higher education— down from 4th in 2008 and 3rd in 2006.

The federal Science, Technology and Innovation Council recently acknowledged that, “with their significant investments in research and higher education, other countries are catching up and overtaking Canada.”

So how DO we get the economic and health outcomes we need? And where do research hospitals fit in?

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Let’s look to industry: Leading international companies in the health care and IT sectors for example, recognize the value of investing in R&D to drive innovation.

Companies like Pfizer, Merck, Yahoo and Intel invest in the range of 8 – 20% of annual sales in R&D year over year.

A sustained commitment to research. How can we apply that lesson to a health care system in need of transformation?

I’d say we are off to a good start.

Ontario’s Excellent Care for All Act enshrined a commitment to quality into legislation – and recognizes that quality of care needs to be supported by the best evidence.

Well, evidence comes from research. And the key to any successful and productive research enterprise is talent …. - the scientists and their teams, working in universities and research hospitals in partnership with industry, government and others.

Talent moves where it can flourish; where it is embraced and supported.

We need to invest in making Ontario the place where the brightest minds want to do their research, and help us create a new tomorrow

If we’re going to promote investment, I know we need to show how that investment is going to deliver real, measurable results.

So here’s our value proposition: Health Research is an investment that benefits each and every one us of in three ways.

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First, research makes us healthier by improving quality of care and bringing productivity improvements in our health care system.

Second, research makes us wealthier by introducing breakthroughs and innovations that save money and benefit patients. Research also makes us wealthier by creating new jobs for Ontarians.

And finally, research makes us smarter by positioning Ontario as a magnet for attracting and retaining the brightest minds from here and around the world.

Let me elaborate on a couple of the possibilities that I referenced at the beginning of my talk to highlight this value.

Example 1: Researchers led by Dr. John Bell at the Hospital Research Institute saw promising results when using oncolytic viruses to treat cancer without harming normal tissues in humans. Bell believes that someday, viruses and other biological therapies could be a possible cure for cancer.

Example 2: Researchers at Sunnybrook’s Research Institute have developed a quick and non-invasive procedure to pinpoint and destroy tumours. Instead of a scalpel, surgeons will use High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound to obliterate the tumours.

Surgery…without cutting the skin. We’ve estimated that if this procedure were used to one fibroid condition alone, it would save the Ontario health care system $35 million every year.

Example 3: Scientists at University Health Network (UHN) have pioneered a method to “renovate” lungs that are not perfectly healthy and restore them to such a level

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that they are suitable for organ transplantation. This method could significantly expand the number of patients saved by organ transplant today..

These are incredible examples indeed – but be assured, they just scratch the surface of how Ontario’s health research enterprise is changing lives.

Research is about many things, but above all it’s about giving hope.

Breakthroughs don’t happen in isolation. They arise out of places that spark inquiry and teamwork.

My job as the CEO of a research hospital is to cultivate an environment that breeds excellence and allows for innovation to flourish.

It is also to bring people together so that ideas get translated into action in a way that benefits patients.

In fact, when building the health care ecosystem of the future, partnerships are the new power tools.

Let’s look at a few of the partnerships that CAHO hospitals are involved in today. We are working in partnership with the thousands of patients who participate in research and clinical trials—and if you are one of those individuals: thank you.

You are the true pioneers and your participation helps us find the answers we need. I am excited by what I see happening in the changing landscape of patient oriented research – research that is not simply done FOR patients, but with patients.

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This means engaging those affected by the research more deeply in asking the right questions, and designing the studies.

Partnering with patients and opening up traditional research paradigms is the new way forward, and Ontario research hospitals are taking the lead.

We are partnering with other hospitals. CAHO’s program Adopting Research to Improve Care, called ARTIC, is a perfect example of this collaboration and leadership.

Through this program CAHO hospitals are working together to make sure that when ones of us discovers a new way to provide better care for our patients, we all use that knowledge.

We are taking the latest evidence from health care research and accelerating the spread and use of that knowledge where it counts – on the front line.

For example, we working together to use what we learned from research to:

… enable better transitions in care for our surgical patients within the hospital;

.. . to bridge gaps between the hospital and community for people with long-term mental health issues.

.. We are using research discoveries to tackle antibiotic resistance and lower hospital acquired infection rates like C-difficle ….

… And research has taught us to challenge the popular perception that “rest is best” and instead raise the level of mobility of elderly seniors in hospital …

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CAHO hospitals also joined together to help secure federal and provincial investment and support for an “evidence implementation laboratory” for Ontario …

.. a model that will make us greater than the sum of our parts

We are partnering with business and industry. 15% of the R&D revenue collected by Ontario’s research hospitals comes from private industry.

This proportion is 2.5x the OECD average for business investment in higher education R&D.

Our health research enterprise attracts foreign investment to Ontario and, relative to other sectors at home and abroad, we punch well above our weight.

Our partnerships with industry are accelerating the implementation and commercial potential of viable health research.

For example, Hamilton Health Sciences hosts one of the most successful clinical trials institutes in the world now employing 275 highly trained individuals that have replaced lost manufacturing jobs in the region.

Another interesting story is Rna Diagnostics, a spin-off company whose labs are based at the research institute of Health Sciences North in Sudbury.

This company has developed a diagnostics tool that recognizes breast cancer patients are not all the same.

It helps to identify, early on, patients not responding to chemotherapy, enabling the medical team to switch to other forms of treatment earlier and avoid harmful side effects.

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Rna currently employs 10 people at its labs and is forecast to employ 6x that number over the next few years.

This is just one of many examples of … our partnership with … and investment from the Ontario government. ….And for that, we need to say thank you and give credit where credit is due.

Health research is now a major part of the new economy of many of our communities. Partnerships with industry and government have made this happen.

Research is an investment in the future that sees a real and measurable return.

Let’s look at the facts and what they tell us about what we’ve already accomplished:

• Almost half of Canada’s top research hospitals are in Ontario, and together, they invested $1.2 billion dollars in health research in Ontario in 2011.

• Our research hospitals are home to 15,000 researchers and research staff.

• Those are good, high paying jobs for people working right down the street on University Avenue, in my community of Kingston and right across the province.

• And here’s the big impact: CAHO estimates that $1.2 billion dollars invested in health R&D generates over $3.2 billion dollars in Ontario’s economy.

• This means jobs—from highly skilled research talent, to the entrepreneurs that supply the inputs for research, to the businesses that provide the goods and services that are then consumed by the thousands of end users. 11

This investment in health research is multifaceted and it benefits many spheres: patient and population health, the health care system, jobs, the economy…

It is as much about generating new business as it about enabling productivity in our health care system.

We have some of the best clinical and scientific talent in the world right here, right now, in Ontario.

They are the reason others want to come to our province: Our people are catalysts for investment, and they are counting on us to ensure that future investments happen.

To borrow from my friends at the Chamber, it is about our economy emerging stronger, more resilient and dynamic.

It’s about our health care system becoming more innovative and responsive, providing the best care for our patients.

It’s about being more competitive and prosperous.

The facts are clear: Investment in health care research delivers results that matter to the people of Ontario, and beyond.

Continued success depends on all of us.

We need to work together to deliver an end to end health research and innovation strategy– from molecule, to medicine to market.

It will take time, and courage.

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The late Dr. Tony Pawson said:

“It is worth viewing basic science as a long-term investment that will yield completely unexpected dividends for humanity in the future.”

The February 2013 Ontario Throne Speech speaks to the goal of building “the strongest and most innovative health care system in the world…”

Achieving this goal is possible if we fire up our shared ambition to make it happen.

Collaboration will fuel our capacity to innovate and it will drive our new collective, competitive advantage.

As Chair of the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario I can assure you that our members are ready, willing and able to help bring this collaboration imperative to life.

So what is your role? Where do you fit in this new collaborative research enterprise? As you may expect, I have some ideas! …

To those of you from business, finance and industry – I am asking you to stay informed and stay connected.

We need you to bring your skills, ideas, and continued investment to the table so that together we can help build the strongest end-to-end health care innovation ecosystem in the world – … from research to innovation to implementation to commercialization.

This is good for Ontario and it’s good for making businesses stronger in Ontario.

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To my colleagues from within the health care sector, I am asking you to continue forging connections among our many teams of researchers, clinicians and patients.

We need you to lead in ways that break down silos and create new partnerships.

Most importantly, we need you to ignite and fuel cultures of curiosity and passion that will take innovation and research to new heights.

This in turn will help us make health, and health care better for everyone in Ontario.

And to those of you from government, we are asking for continued support of the research and innovation agenda, along with targeted public investment.

Thanks to your foresight and financial support in the past, we are the right path – but we simply can’t stop or slow down now.

We need you to seed this collaboration with an eye to both the short and the long term.

We need you to aim high with all of us to bring to life our shared vision of having the strongest and most innovative health care system in the world.

The result?

A healthier, wealthier and smarter Ontario. That is our new bottom line.

So in closing, imagine once again – a new future.

• A future where Ontario’s track record of investment through partnerships in R&D is viewed with envy and admiration.

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• A future where the best and the brightest know Ontario is the place to do research and grow their research career

• A future where people in Ontario are healthier … and more prosperous … than anywhere else.

These are not stories of science fiction – they are stories of hope and real possibility.

Stories that we can, and will make true – together.

Thank you.

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