The Surging Growth of Life Sciences in BC

Commercializing the Academic Research – and Managing Substantial Growth

Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API) was launched to solve a big challenge. Commercialization within the life sciences. There’s a general lack of understanding of the technical and scientific capacity needed for a life sciences company to commercialize in Canada. API sought to fix that.   Part incubator, part R&D, API helps companies scale up here in Canada where they would normally have to invest tens of millions of dollars just to build out their infrastructure. And the model is working, with growth forecast to see 60 staff currently blossom to 150 in the next 18 months.   In addition, the Government of Canada recently made an $80.5 million investment in a key project API is involved in. But that success itself brings many challenges. How is API handling those? Guest: Andrew MacIsaac, CEO Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API) Website: appliedpharma.ca [http://appliedpharma.ca/] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/applied-pharmaceutical-innovation [https://www.linkedin.com/company/applied-pharmaceutical-innovation] Twitter: @api_applied BioTalent Canada Website [https://www.biotalent.ca/] See the latest news on our website [https://www.biotalent.ca/news/] Contact [https://www.biotalent.ca/contact/] BioTalent Canada by email [https://www.biotalent.ca/contact/]

Attitude is More Important Than Technical Skills

Bishop Water Technologies is rapidly growing in Canada. Dedicated to the development of easy-to-use, low energy solutions for solids management, it’s a team that has worked for two decades to develop and optimize affordable technologies. So it may be surprising to hear CEO Kevin Bossy say technical skills have to take a back seat compared to attitude. But he firmly believes it. This attitude has helped Bishop Water grow ten-fold over the last 15 years.   It’s heart and desire that help find the new innovations, and proof positive that low-energy solutions are often found by high energy attitude. Guest: Kevin Bossy, CEO Bishop Water Technologies Web site https://bishopwater.ca/ [https://bishopwater.ca/]   BioTalent Canada Website [https://www.biotalent.ca/] See the latest news on our website [https://www.biotalent.ca/news/] Contact BioTalent Canada by email [https://www.biotalent.ca/contact/]

Disruption to Make the World Better

The entrepreneurial mindset was introduced early to Ronen Benin by his parents. They had moved to Canada with degrees that weren’t recognized. So they taught him, if you’re going to build something, make sure you are always build something for yourself too. He never forgot that.   Today Ronen is the founder and CEO of a number of companies now such as Glissner which created the World’s first clinical-grade phone sanitizer. It uses UV light to kill all viruses and bacteria on any phone in a couple seconds.  He’s also founder of Right Blue Labs which developed the Avail App that helps companies understand the psychometrics of employee wellness.  In this episode Ronen shares his strategies for building businesses but more importantly, attracting and keeping the right talent.  Guest: Ronen Benin, founder and CEO of Glissner Connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronenbenin/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronenbenin/] https://glissner.com/ [https://glissner.com/] BioTalent Canada Website [https://www.biotalent.ca/] See the latest news on our website [https://www.biotalent.ca/news/] Contact [https://www.biotalent.ca/contact/] BioTalent Canada by email [https://www.biotalent.ca/contact/]

The Surging Growth of Life Sciences in BC

Life Sciences BC CEO Wendy Hurlburt remembers the surge started with a spirit of collaboration just as COVID was beginning to impact the world. Then came the talent crunch that forced many members in BC to find creative ways to keep their operations open. The Metro-Vancouver bio economy has some 1,300 organizations which collectively employ about 16,000 people. Three quarters of those companies have fewer than 20 full-time staff with the largest sub sector being bio-health (50%). The bigger companies are growing exponentially and scrambling to find talent. The smaller companies, still growing, are looking for very specific, niche skills. Wendy is seeing companies react by deepening their value propositions for employees, beyond scientific pursuits to include talking about their culture and what it means to join their organization. And she’s recognized a trend that might shock… the idea that for some positions one doesn’t need a PhD to work in biotech.   Guest: Wendy Hurlburt, President and CEO Life Sciences BC Wendy holds a critical leadership role in BC's dynamic life sciences ecosystem. She takes a collaborative approach to cultivate relationships between local subject matter experts, global partners, educational institutions and government to support the thriving sector. Before joining Life Sciences BC, Wendy held multiple leadership roles with Johnson & Johnson in strategic and business planning, finance, partnerships and business development, operational transformation, and quality and regulatory compliance. Prior to J & J, she held Chief Financial Officer roles for both the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and Lexmark International in its Canadian and South Asian divisions. LSBC Website - https://lifesciencesbc.ca/ [https://lifesciencesbc.ca/] Publications - https://lifesciencesbc.ca/news/publications/ [https://lifesciencesbc.ca/news/publications/] LinkedIn account - @Life Sciences BC https://www.linkedin.com/company/lifesciences-bchttps://www.linkedin.com/company/lifesciences-bc [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lifesciences-bc] Twitter account - @lifesciences_bc https://twitter.com/lifesciences_bchttps://twitter.com/lifesciences_bc [https://twitter.com/lifesciences_bc] BioTalent Canada Website [https://www.biotalent.ca/] See the latest news on our website [https://www.biotalent.ca/news/] Contact BioTalent Canada by email [https://www.biotalent.ca/contact/]

Forward-Thinking. Forward-Acting. BIOVECTRA

PEI has become somewhat of a Mecca for the Bio Tech industry in Canada. And the biggest one is BIOVECTRA.  It’s a company adding new team members seemingly every day having blossomed to over 600 in both PEI and Nova Scotia (and most of that growth during a global pandemic).  For two consecutive years the company has been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers demonstrating high performance in areas like training and skills development, financial benefits, employee engagement, and health and family benefits.  In this episode, Lester Wood, VP People and Corporate Culture for BIOVECTRA shares some its programs including financial support for people undergoing gender transition.  Guest: Lester Wood, BioVectra https://www.biovectra.com/ [https://www.biovectra.com/] Contact BIOVECTRA https://www.biovectra.com/contact-v4/ [https://www.biovectra.com/contact-v4/] BioTalent Canada Website [https://www.biotalent.ca/] See the latest news on our website [https://www.biotalent.ca/news/] Contact [https://www.biotalent.ca/contact/] BioTalent Canada by email [https://www.biotalent.ca/contact/]