{"id":25902,"date":"2018-10-25T18:05:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T18:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/?p=25902"},"modified":"2024-03-16T13:19:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-16T17:19:55","slug":"state-of-the-art-health-research-happens-in-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/media-center\/state-of-the-art-health-research-happens-in-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"State-of-the-Art Health Research Happens in Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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In September, I represented Toronto Global at one of the largest biotechnology summits in Europe: BioSpain \u2013 Sevilla<\/a>. It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase what the Toronto Region can offer to growing international companies in this sector, as well as put the Toronto Region\u2019s value proposition to the test.

The Toronto Region has long been recognized as a global life sciences hub with an impressive track record of innovation and commercialization \u2013 from the Discovery District<\/a> in Toronto\u2019s downtown core, to Mississauga\u2019s specialized pharmaceuticals sector<\/a>, to Brampton\u2019s upcoming preventive care cluster<\/a>.

Over the last several months, Toronto Global has worked together with TOHealth!<\/a> and other regional stakeholders to conduct a deep dive into the life sciences sector. The objective was to identify and articulate key opportunity areas that present a compelling value proposition for foreign firms to expand operations into the Toronto Region and contribute to the growth of the region\u2019s cluster.<\/p>\n

\"State-of-the-Art

Together with JanWillem Gille<\/a> – Director Western Europe and Aurora Polo<\/a> – Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Consulate in Barcelona<\/a> – we covered a packed agenda, meeting with more than 25 companies interested in expanding to North America. Here\u2019s a snapshot of what we talked about:<\/p>\n

Availability of Talent<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the most important draws for the foreign firms we spoke to was our talent pool, which was very well recognized. As one of the largest life science clusters in North America, we grow, attract, and retain the talent that companies need for their business to succeed. Whether it\u2019s our fast-tracked approach to highly skilled immigration, or our commitment to increase the number of STEM graduates to 50,000 by 2023, companies can rest assured that they will find the educated workforce they need today and in the future.<\/p>\n

State-of-the-art Research<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Of particular interest was the 11,000+ researchers and technicians working in Toronto\u2019s specialty fields: regenerative medicine, genomics, cardiology, oncology, neurology and artificial intelligence. Our region has proven to have the intellectual horsepower to undertake advanced research, operating out of the Toronto Region\u2019s 37 research institutes, nine teaching hospitals and the University of Toronto\u2019s Faculty of Medicine<\/a>, with over $1B in research funding.<\/p>\n

Open for Partnerships<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the life sciences and health sector it is standard practise to join forces with other players in the market to achieve results. The openness of the ecosystem in the Toronto Region and the possibility to leverage a diverse patient pool, as well as shorten the time from research to production, resonated with our target group. Companies were interested in possibilities to collaborate with Canada\u2019s largest concentration of research hospitals, institutes, academia, business incubators and venture capital organizations downtown, within a 2.5 km2<\/sup> research park and health innovation hub.<\/p>\n

Access to Market<\/strong><\/h2>\n

European companies were particularly interested in the Toronto Region\u2019s proximity to the US market and the ease of doing business within North America, along with the recently implemented free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, eliminating tariffs and promoting labour mobility.<\/p>\n

Attractive Investment Destination<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Our value proposition was very well received by European life sciences and health companies. The key takeaway for companies was the Toronto Region\u2019s offering of a high quality, cost competitive business environment. From highly educated talent and efficient clinical trials infrastructure, to generous R&D tax incentive programs, life sciences and health companies get a better return on their investment in the Toronto Region. Additionally, our strong innovative and entrepreneurial support infrastructure, government-backed venture capital and streamlined regulatory approvals, all in combination with our robust clinical environment will get new products and services in the hands of those who need it most.<\/p>\n\n

\"Bart<\/figure>\n\n

(Picture from left to right: Bart Deelen, Senior Advisor, Investment Attraction, Europe and JanWillem Gille, Director, Investment Attraction, Europe)<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In September, I represented Toronto Global at one of the largest biotechnology summits in Europe: BioSpain \u2013 Sevilla. It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase what the Toronto Region can…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":25920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[285,289,287],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-insights","category-life-sciences","category-our-industries"],"acf":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25902"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36899,"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25902\/revisions\/36899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torontoglobal.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}