Archive for the ‘Industry-Related News’ Category

The 2012 U.S. National Bioeconomy Blueprint was announced on April 26th with the purpose of assessing strategic objectives to maximise on the U.S. bioeconomy potential and to highlight ongoing efforts to meet those objectives.

However, many are concerned that the blueprint predominantly focuses on economic development while insufficiently addressing regulations to minimise social and environmental impact.

The blueprint attributes growth in the current U.S. bioeconomy sector to the development of three foundational technologies including genetic engineering, DNA sequencing, and automated high-throughput manipulations of biomolecules. It goes on to emphasise the reliance of tomorrow’s bioeconomy on the development of emerging technologies such as synthetic biology (engineering of microbes and plants), proteomics (study and manipulation of proteins in an organism), and bioinformatics (application of computational techniques to biological and related data).

The National Bioeconomy Blueprint describes five strategic objectives with the potential to generate economic growth and address societal needs.

1. Support R&D investments that will provide the foundation for the future U.S. bioeconomy in order to overcome market failures that occur when private investors are unable to collect on the full benefits of their investments and provide smaller investments in technology than the socially optimal level. This is dependent on the expansion and development of essential technologies, integration of approaches across fields and the implementation of improved funding mechanisms.

2.  Facilitate the transition of bioinventions from research lab to market, including an increased focus on translational and regulatory sciences. This relies on acceleration of progress to market to move innovation beyond the laboratory, enhancement of entrepreneurship at universities to facilitate the path from research to commercialization, and the utilization of Federal Procurement Authority to drive the creation and growth of new bioeconomy markets.

3. Develop and reform regulations to reduce barriers, increase the speed and predictability of regulatory processes, and reduce costs while protecting human and environmental health. This involves improved regulatory processes and regulations to enhance predictability and reduce uncertainty in regulatory processes and requirements as well as collaboration with stakeholders to inform efforts, stream­line processes, reduce costs and response times while simultaneously maintaining  safety and benefit to public health.

4.  Update training programs and align academic institution incentives with student training for national workforce needs at the K-12 and undergraduate levels. This will result from employer-educator partnerships and redeveloped training programs.

5. Identify and support opportunities for the development of public-private partnerships and precompetitive collaborations where competitors pool resources, knowledge, and expertise to learn from successes and failures.

In introducing the bioeconomy blueprint panel discussion that followed the blueprint announcement, panel moderator and microbiologist Dr. Bonnie Bassler describes the Obama administration as “committed to investing in biological research with the overarching goal of strengthening America’s bioeconomy”.

While the blueprint recognises that biotechnological experimentation carries inherent potential risks if applied improperly, it contends that that ethical and safety issues raised by major advances are top administrative priorities that “go beyond the scope of this [blueprint].”  Rather, the blueprint is “a guide for departments and agencies to ensure that the investments they make in the sector will be well coordinated and highly likely to generate real economic impact,” according to the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy Director John P. Holdren in his announcement of the blueprint.

Panel member Dr. Rina Singh, spoke on behalf of Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), which represents many of the largest oil and petrochemical producers, and discussed innovation in industrial biotechnology, or the application of life sciences to conventional manufacturing and synthetic processes, through the use of wild type or genetically enhanced microbes.  Dr. Singh paints a picture of vast manufacturing application possibilities to revolutionize the way we make and use energy, where she envisions biorefineries replacing petroleum refineries, the same way that petroleum once replaced whale oil. 

However, many are concerned that the reallocation of efforts to harvest above ground sources of fuel “ignores the lessons to be learned from experiences” and that the reliance on biomass for fuel and raw materials ”will inevitably place an extremely heavy toll on food security, and further escalate forest and biodiversity destruction, land grabbing, and climate change,” according to the Global Forest Coalition 2012 report titled “Bioeconomy versus Biodiversity.”

These concerns were shared by Eric Hoffman, a campaigner with Friends of the Earth who commented that the bioeconomy blueprint “largely seems to be an endorsement for the biotechnology industry to rush ahead without any real oversight.” 

A more welcomed blueprint emphasis was placed on efforts to incite collaboration among many various federal and private research agencies alongside the creation of a newly trained workforce in order to achieve novel products, processes and applications. 

An example of collaborative potential for innovation was provided by panel member and cellular and molecular pharmacology expert  Dr. Keith Yamamoto who discussed the applicability of precision medicine, which builds on the collaboration of non-traditional fields in the biomedical arena such as engineering and mathematics as well as patient data to generate medical solutions for diagnoses and treatments of diseases that are tailored to individual patients rather than decisions based on statistical risk factors across large populations.

Dr Yamamoto emphasizes that the evolution of such highly specified methodologies heavily relies on a reassessment of academic process in graduate education and non Ph.D. level in order to rapidly create a much needed new work force and a collaborative continuum among discovery researchers, academia, industry entrepreneurs, foundations, government funding and regulatory agents and patients.  

The reassessment of academia incentives was also discussed by the 2001 World Food Prize winner and panel member Dr. Per Pinstrup-Andersen who noted that biological science applications have contributed to yearly increases in food sources, provided food security in many parts of the world; however, he remarks that “the job is not done yet” and further research is needed to achieve what he calls “sustainable amplification” of food to ensure people eat enough and yet not too much to avoid burdening the health care system. 

Dr. Per Pinstrup-Andersen believes that for progress to occur, there is a strong need to eliminate what he calls “disciplinary silos” which limit research teams by incentivizing research in narrow areas to produce publications and receive funding. He argues that collaboration requires incentives that stretch beyond money, incentives such as promotions, publication and conferences to support collaboration of interdisciplinary teams.

Similar collaborative efforts are at the forefront of Canadian innovation, with federal government incentives supporting the commercialisation of innovation from the lab by increasing its contribution to the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program by an additional $110 million each year.  Furthermore, the Canadian federal Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentive program is central in supporting R&D in Canada. As a world leader in health and life sciences, Canada is home to some of the top biotechnology research facilities in the world, which rely on government funding to alleviate the costs of research. In 2010, $768 million was spent on R&D by pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturers, and another $414 million on R&D relating to navigational, measuring, medical and control instruments. Such research was supported by the Canadian government who had contributed $3.47 billion between 2010 and 2011 to support innovative companies through the SR&ED program.

With so much potential innovation on the horizon, global competition is increasing the need to continue investing in research. As such, biotechnology companies conducting R&D in Canada are strongly encouraged to leverage federal and municipal incentives like the SR&ED tax credit to reinvest funds back into research and commercialization which otherwise may not be affordable, allowing them to get ahead of the competition.   

Read more about SR&ED in the biotechnology sector or watch the U.S. bioeconomy blueprint announcement and discussion panel.

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) announced the launch of a Digital Media Performance Measurement Framework on Monday, May 14. The framework was developed through consultation with industry stakeholders during workshop sessions in Toronto, and is designed to effectively measure the performance of digital media projects against the CMF criteria for their Convergent and Experimental Streams of funding. The framework is based on project classification and key performance indicator (KPI) metrics.

“This is a solid first step in establishing a unified approach to digital media performance measurement,” says Valerie Creighton, President and CEO.  “By working with a national advisory committee composed of 32 industry stakeholders from digital production, producers’ associations, broadcasters, and other funding bodies, the CMF was able to develop an effective and sustainable framework that will set a new standard of digital media reporting. We wish to thank all who have contributed their time, expertise and ideas to make this achievement possible.”

The CMF funds TV and digital media projects through two streams of funding. The Convergent Stream supports the development of convergent, multi-platform television and digital media content. Launched in 2010-2011, the Experimental Stream supports the development of interactive digital media content and software applications. The CMF delivers $375 in funding annually.

The Digital Media Performance Measurement Framework is a conceptual classification framework composed of layered dimensions as pictured.

Read more about the Digital Media Performance Measurement Framework  here. As digital media grows as an industry in Canada, it’s natural and necessary to begin to classify and quantify initiatives from a funding perspective.

Contact NorthBridge to learn more about CMF funding opportunities.

The biotechnology sector has been eagerly awaiting the announcement of a national bioeconomy plan by the Obama administration that is expected to be released today.  The White House blueprint intends to spur development of renewable resources such as crops and biofuels as well as biological manufacturing processes.

Since President Obama’s announcement last September that a bioeconomy blueprint was in development, The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has sought and received public commentary regarding potential blueprint contents and challenges from 135 individuals and organizations.

The compiled blueprint discusses improvements to education and work force training, increased collaboration among the private and public sectors, commercialization of discoveries through corporate involvement with academia, and awarding of prizes for innovation to support research and development.  The report also outlines a strategy to provide faster and more predictable regulation, which may help mediate stringent and opaque F.D.A. regulations that hinder potential investments, while keeping unsafe products off the market.

According to an article by Andrew Pollack of the New York Times, a significant portion of the report details programs are already being implemented.  It is therefore unclear whether the blueprint will insight any changes, which builds anticipation for potential game-changers in the administrative blueprint announcement, especially when   global competition in biotechnology is exceedingly palpable.

On the home turf , the Canadian biotech sector was pleased to see that the recent 2012 Canadian federal budget maintained the Scientific Research and Experimental Development  (SR&ED) program largely intact, continuing to support more than basic labour costs (which is crucial is crucial for capital- intensive biotechnology companies using state of the art equipment), and keeping the enhanced investment tax credit (ITC) refundability rate at 35 percent to support growth of small- and medium-sized CCPCs.

The release of the bioeconomy blueprint could not have come at a better time as biotech industry leaders are preparing to gather for the BIO 9^th  annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, on April 29- May 2 in Orlando, FL.,  to exhibit, discuss and invest in current technological trends and advancements with the aim of delivering innovative technological solutions to the global market.

In a statement released on October 13 2011, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood applauded president Obama’s decision to focus efforts in the biotechnology sector, “the National Bioeconomy Blueprint can leverage investments across the country in biotechnology research and development to create jobs and spur biological innovation on a grand scale.”

But not everyone agrees. Jim Thomas of the ETC Group, believes that a biomass economy threatens the ecosystem and paves the way for increased land grabs, hunger, and control of land and food production by large agri-business. In his article, “Beware the Biomass Economy,” Thomas warns that “the production of liquid fuels (so-called Biofuels or agrofuels) from biomass is the poster child of the new bio-based economy and also the most controversial part. World Bank figures reveal that up to 75% of the global rise in food prices in 2008 that led to massive hunger and unrest worldwide was due to the biofuels policies of the US and Europe that were directing corn, soy and other foodstuffs towards fuel production.”

With these considerations in mind, it is a crucial time for the global biotechnology industry, including biotechnology companies, government administration and academia, to take charge of leveraging potential profitability towards research and development with an increased focus on sustainability.

Read more about SR&ED in the biotechnology sector.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has recently announced the industrial biotechnology companies that have been selected to showcase their new technologies, accomplishments and business models to leading investors and analysts at the BIO 9^th  annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, to be held on April 29- May 2 in Orlando, FL.  

 Company executives from several companies including Virdia, Itaconix, Agrivida, Proterro, CO2 Solutions , Kiverdi , Cellana and Terrabon will make formal 25-minute presentations to spur investment opportunities and business partnerships.

 The BIO congress is a forum for networking and creating partnership opportunities as well as an exhibition of current technological trends and advancements aimed at delivering innovative technological solutions to the global market. Bringing together more than 1,000 innovative minds, this is the world’s largest industrial biotechnology event for business leaders, investors and policy makers in biofuels, biobased products, renewable chemicals, synthetic biology, food ingredients and biomass, with commercialization of advanced biofuels as this year’s prevailing theme.

 This will be the first year presenting an investor discussion panel to examine the biggest investment trends of 2012 and identify  investment opportunities and funding sources for clean tech business. The investor panel will be moderated by John May, of Stern Brothers & Co., and feature industry experts.

 Six breakout session tracks will be additionally featured, providing participants with a smaller group setting to address specific industry topics such as Advanced Biofuel Technologies; Algae and Feedstock Crops; Renewable Chemical Platforms and Biobased Materials; Specialty Chemicals; Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering; and Technical Presentations.

 A strong Canadian presence will be demonstrated at the congress with notable participants such as Ontario Agri-food Technologies, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Trade, The Chemical Institute of Canada, BIOTECanada, as well as the University of Waterloo and the University of Guelph among many others.

The 2012 federal budget has reinforced the philosophy of a less centralized government, and more self-reliance in the space and aerospace sectors.  Some of the key issues that will impact this industry are:

- The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) budget being cut by 2.5% ($7.9 million) in 2012, and $24.7 in 2013.

- Cutbacks to other federal agencies, including the Department of National Defence

- Cutbacks to the SR&ED program.  Reductions to the SR&ED program will especially impact that space and aerospace sectors, due to the abundance of large corporations that fall under the general investment tax credit rate (to be reduced from 20% to 15% effective 2014), and the abundance of capital-intensive businesses (capital expenditure eligibilty will be phased out of the SR&ED program for 2014).

The space and aerospace sector faces continued uncertainty as the entire industry awaits the recommendations from the Aerospace Review, which will be released mid-December.