Canada's pandemic-driven life sci strategy
Life Sciences Ontario's Dr. Jason Field gives his perspective on how the pandemic has re-shaped the Canadian industry
NPC Healthbiz Weekly is presented to you in cooperation with Peak Pharma Solutions
Dr. Jason Field, President and CEO of Life Sciences Ontario thinks he knows the answer to this self-posed question: “How do we take the great science we have here in Canada, translate that into commercially successful companies, and bring all the benefits of those to Canada?” He believes a robust national life sciences strategy is the key.
On the latest episode of the NPC Podcast, hosted by Peter Brenders, Field (photo below) discussed what the path forward will look like for the Canadian life sciences industry and its economic development.
“Life Sciences Ontario… is a not-for-profit industry association,” Field said. “I like to say we’re a little different than most industry associations, in that we don’t just represent industry.”
“Because we’re representing not a specific group within life sciences, but the whole sector, we tend to focus on issues and topics that have broad impact across the industry,” he said, “which gives us a lot of credibility.”
LSO’s science-based and evidence-based perspective has made it “quite successful in terms of elevating our voice around big issues that are happening within the life sciences industry,” Field said.
According to Field, the pandemic “really has thrown life sciences broadly into the spotlight. I think Pharma specifically, around vaccines, [has become] part of the popular conversation and dialogue,” he said. “You never heard the general public having conversations around the breakfast table about mRNA vaccines prior to the pandemic.”
“But the pandemic’s also shone a spotlight on some of the gaps in our industry and some of the neglect that’s happened in Canada over time,” he said. “Gaps in biomanufacturing and supply chains, our role in global supply chains, have been an ongoing concern for those of us in the industry.”
“The other thing that’s really important in a Canadian context is that often the Pharma industry is part of a dialogue around cost and affordability and not value.” Field said that the economic impact of the pandemic has started to shift that perspective: “We’re hoping that that’s going to change views of [the life sciences industry’s] value proposition.”
“There’s actually some good news,” Field said. “We’re seeing investments into the industry right now.”
“In the last federal budget, we saw some pretty major investments in biomanufacturing,” he added. The biomanufacturing and life sciences strategy that the federal government has recently announced “is something we’ve been asking for for a long time,” Field said, “and we really feel that our voice was heard there.”
“It still needs to, of course, be implemented in a meaningful way. We’re optimistic about these advances, but we’re watching them very carefully.”
Further Reading: The Government of Canada recently announced a $2.2 billion Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy, with the stated goals of strengthening the domestic life sciences sector and preparing Canada for future health crises. Read their full plan here.
LISTEN NOW
Hear the whole story: In this week’s episode of the NPC Podcast, our host, Peter Brenders, discusses the current life sci landscape with Dr. Jason Field, President & CEO of Life Sciences Ontario. Plus: electoral politics, vaccine mandates, and the role of the PMPRB.
WEEK 08/17/21
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CANADIAN HEALTHCARE MARKETING HALL OF FAME
The Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame awards were established in 2002 to honour healthcare marketers who have contributed to our vocation and inspire others.
More than 100 honourees have been selected during the past 18 years. In the selection committee's view, they stand for a representative cross-section of the qualities that make our business unique and fulfilling. Each week, NPC Healthbiz Weekly will acknowledge one past Hall of Fame Honouree.
2017 Inductee
Kevin Leshuk
Mississauga, Ont.
Editor’s Note: Kevin Leshuk is the Founder, President, and CEO of FORUS Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company bringing innovative therapies to Canadian cancer patients.
Doing work that “added value” is what Kevin Leshuk found in the pharmaceutical industry.
“I always knew that I wanted to do something that added value,” says the Vice President and General Manager at Celgene Inc. based in Mississauga, Ont. “I really did not know what that looked like until I had an opportunity to work in the pharmaceutical industry. Six months in, I realized that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my career.”
Graduating from McMaster University in 1988, he became an oncology representative at Adria Laboratories, where he was hired to replace an employee on maternity leave. When that employee took another position in the company upon her return, he earned permanent status—a unique pathway compared to most. After several industry mergers and acquisitions, the company eventually became Pharmacia and Leshuk held various commercial roles at the firm until becoming Sales Director. When the company was acquired by Pfizer in the early 2000s, he took on the role of Director of Hospital Sales, but being a father of two young children who had just started school at the time, he and his wife Diana decided not to relocate to Quebec. He joined Roche in late 2003, moving into product management and becoming a Business Unit Director. He left Roche to launch Celgene Canada in July 2006.
Putting the interests of patients first has been a principle that has guided Leshuk in his career. “Revenue is a surrogate for doing the right thing,” he says.
He has seen the tremendous progress in treatments in therapeutic areas like oncology and immunology. “The therapies and drugs I have worked on have all added enormous patient and societal value,” Leshuk explains. “I have worked on traditional chemotherapeutic agents to therapies that are now backbone treatments for incurable cancers like multiple myeloma. These novel therapies are doubling patient survival and significantly enhancing quality of life for patients. It has been pretty remarkable.”
Looking forward, he will continue to put the interests of patients first and to make the case for the Life Sciences sector in Canada and the importance the sector brings to Canadian society. “I really do think we need to define and better communicate our value,” he stresses.
STILL LISTENING? TRY ANOTHER PODCAST
And now for something completely different. As part of an educational series on dermatologic concerns in Black skin, Dr. Neil Shear, former Head of Dermatology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and founder of its Drug Safety Clinic, and Dr. Brian Carleton, Senior Clinician Scientist at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, discuss Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), also known as toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). SJS/TEN is a drug-induced disease involving extensive blistering of the skin and a high risk of death—but genetic markers can help predict which patients it may occur. Tune in for a discussion of genetic screening and rare drug reactions.
NEXT WEEK
In the 08/31 edition of NPC Healthbiz Weekly, Tracy Clinch, President of Masitek Instruments Inc, talks about how she started her company, grew it, and weathered the pandemic. It’s easy to get your no-charge subscription and have the issue sent to your phone or inbox each Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. sharp.
Stay safe, stay sure, and stay on your game. We’ll see you again next week.