Conference & Meetings World Supplements Canada Supplement | Page 8

Québec
Boom time for Life Sciences
in Québec City
Q
uébec City’s Life
Sciences industry
is one of the
most booming
sectors in the region. With over
150 companies generating
nearly CAD$1.3bn in sales and
85 research chairs, centres and
institutes, Québec City is not short
of expertise and potential for the
future in biopharmaceuticals,
biotechnology, medical
technologies, eHealth
technologies, nutraceuticals and
cosmeceuticals.
So, what makes Québec City
such a hotbed for innovation?
President and CEO of Québec
International, an economic
development agency, Carl Viel,
says health research is a key factor
explaining how Québec City has
made its mark in the world’s Life
Sciences. Its Université Laval, Viel
notes, is one of the top 10 research
universities in Canada. “Along
with the burgeoning number of
research chairs and centres and
institutes, over CAD$357m has
been awarded in grants and
contracts in the past three years
alone,” Viel says.
Professors, researchers and
students in the city are conducting
some “ahead-of-the-curve, high-
quality studies,” Viel explains.
Québec City’s core strengths
– both on the research and
private sector side – are broad,
including vaccines, infectiology,
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
development of medications, clinical research,
diagnostic tools, telehealth and AI, functional foods,
cardiology, pneumology, oncology, neuroscience
and tissue engineering.
Complementing the city’s university research
talent is Alliance santé Québec, an initiative uniting
leaders from the region, including university faculties,
healthcare institutions, stakeholders from the business
community, and economic development agents, to
innovate in delivering sustainable healthcare.
Viel believes Québec City stands out because
much of its life-changing research is transformed into
commercial products, “which means each year, new
start-ups sprout in cutting-edge sectors and viable
niche markets,” he notes.
Crossing the chasm from pure and applied
research to marketable solutions is not easy and
Québec City is proving it can be attractive for
businesses in the Life Sciences sector to set up shop.
With labour costs 34% less than in the US and energy
prices among the world’s lowest,
reasonably priced rents and one
of the most competitive tax rates
in North America, Québec has
everything companies need to
compete on the world stage. It
is the number one city in North
America for affordable business
operating costs, according to
Competitive Alternatives 2016 by
KPMG.
Evidence of the city’s thriving
Life Sciences industry is provided
by big investments being made
in the local public health system.
CAD$2bn will be invested in a
new hospital complex for the
CHU de Québec, the largest
university hospital in the province
and CAD$42m has been granted
to the Institut universitaire de
cardiologie et de pneumologie de
Québec (IUCPQ) Université Laval.
In terms of the private sector,
Médicago is to invest CAD$331m
in building a new vaccine
production plant, and Endoceutics
is building a new factory to
commercialise its new medication.
Viel continues: “Significant
investments like these are
paramount to advancing health
research and supporting Québec-
based experts and professionals in
the Life Sciences sector.”
Québec City has also for many
years hosted the Québec City
Industry Forum where up to
400 delegates annually discuss
innovations in health sciences and