Health
What is Health Biotechnology?
Biotechnology helps people live longer and healthier lives by developing new therapies through innovative research leading to breakthroughs in vaccine development, disease therapies, and diagnostic testing. These developments have changed the way we think about health care and treat disease.
Researchers in biotechnology apply cellular and bio-molecular processes to develop medical treatments. Their creations result in improved methods for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. These products may include new therapeutics for the treatment of disease, such as cancer and heart disease with fewer side effects, new and safer vaccines, more accurate diagnostic tests, and many more; all in an effort to prolong life, advance public health practices that improve the lives of all Canadians.
What are Medical Devices?
Medical devices are articles, instruments, apparatus or contrivance, that are manufactured, sold or represented for use in the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of a disease, disorder or abnormal physical state, or its symptoms, in a human being. A medical device may act in restoration, correction or modification of a body function or the body structure (Source: Canadian Food and Drugs Act).
Companies in the medical device industry create biomedical instruments and other health care products and supplies for diagnostics, surgery, patient care, and laboratories. These devices are used in: interventional radiology procedures & vascular surgery, diagnostic testing, monitoring of the bodies vital signs, imaging techniques such as MRI and spectrocopy, and for orthopaedic purposes. Through research and development, advancements in medical devices contribute to better patient outcomes by shortening and improving in medical procedures.
What are Therapeutics?
Biotechnology companies are at the forefront of discovering, developing and bringing to market the next generation of life-saving medicines. Such innovation and discovery can generate real savings by reducing or eliminating the need for other services and procedures with in the health care systen. Biotechnology plays an important role as a preventative tool in the health care system.
In the future, biotechnology will improve your health by using andunderstanding your genetic code to diagnose and fight disease.
As research continues, Canadian leadership in biotechnology will grow and offer global solutions with expertise in:
• Cancer therapeutics and vaccines
• Treatments for heart disease, arthritis, rare diseases, Alzheimer’s and diabetes
• Infectious disease treatments
The Canadian Perspective
Human health represents over half of all life science companies, 70 percent of all revenues and close to 90 percent of all research and development in Canada. Canada is globally recognized for: discovery and characterization of therapeutic molecules; genomics and proteomics platforms; vaccines and immunotherapeutics, regenerative medicine; and, stem cell research and drug formulation & delivery systems. (Source: Invest in Canada)
The Manitoba Perspective
Established biotechnology companies like Cangene, Valeant, and Vita Health call Manitoba their home. A growing numbers of companies like Medicure, Diamedica and SciMar are choosing to locate their business in the province. LSAM has developed training programs with industry and Red River College to provide these new and expanding businesses with the talent they need to capture new market opportunities.
Manitoba is also home to a number of key medical device companies, including Miraculins, Sphaera, Monteris and IMRIS; their innovations are changing the face of healthcare as we know it.
For more information contact:
Stephen Szczerba
Manager, Health Industries
204-272-5094
sszczerba@lsam.ca