Q&A with BIOTECanada CEO and president Andrew Casey

ONTARIO

Q&a andrew casey, BioTecanada

Biotechnology Focus goes one-on-one with BIOTECanada CEO and president Andrew Casey to discuss the organization’s recent CEO Investor Conference in Whistler, its plans for the upcoming BIO International Conference in Philadelphia, PA and to get his take on the state of the industry in Canada.

Q: your organization recently hosted its 10th annual investor summit in Whistler, BC, what was the turnout like, and who attended?

We had a lot of people coming up from the U.S. which was very encouraging, both in the form of VC’s and also strong representation from pharma investment and R&D arms. In total, I think we had close to 70 attendees. We really wanted to maintain that intimacy because we find that’s what really works. As a small company attending you know you’re going to get time to spend with Johnson and Johnson, Versant Ventures or CTI Lifesciences. To keep it small, we did have to turn a few people away which is a very good sign and indicative of what’s happening in the industry. There’s a real sort of feeling we’re in an upswing and the energy feels very positive right now. It’s a little like what you’re seeing with the Bloom Burton Healthcare Investor Conference where it’s growing by leaps and bounds. Brian Bloom wants to turn that event into a JP Morgan of the North where everybody comes to that event and builds in side events and while not on the same scale, I think we’re seeing the same thing with the Whistler event. The quality of the presentations was outstanding by the companies. We put together an advisory group this year to help vet the companies to make sure the companies that came were in the right state, ready for that investor audience. Some companies weren’t even there looking for money, they were looking for licensing or partnership opportunities, like the business development people from big pharma.

Q: In terms of the biotech companies that attended, was there good representation from across the country?

Yes, we try to balance it out, so we had a couple from Québec and Ontario. Obviously due to the location, BC had a strong presence. From a presentation company standpoint it was balanced across the country, we even had a company from PEI.

Canada Place Opening: Andrew Casey with Hazel McCallion (left).

Q: What were some of the takeaways from your roundtables of VC’s and industry leaders at this event?

There were a lot of good things that came out of it starting with who was there. When you looked around there was probably over a billion dollars in investment money in the room which was really exciting. Many of the big name venture firms were there including Versant Ventures, CTI Life Sciences and Teralys Capital, in addition to SR1. A lot of investment money and a lot of expertise. We changed the format up a bit as well. Under the old format, Friday was the reception and Saturday we would have five companies presenting to investors and then you go off and ski. We would have a reception again on Saturday night, and start the whole thing over on Sunday. This time around people were coming in as early as Thursday night, so we started the conference early on Friday with some mentorship sessions. One featured a successful company answering questions on best practices. We followed that up with a panel featuring one of the lead legal firms that puts together the deals, one of the VC’s and also one of the pharma guys. I said to all the companies that were coming

ONTARIO

“More companies need to come here. More investors need to come here. I think it’s on the upswing. So that’s our message

to the world.” — Andrew Casey

you got them for two hours, ask them all the questions you want to ask them. That was a great session. It wrapped up just after lunch and then we had the round table session which featured a great discussion. Everybody’s feeling really good about the state of play right now. There’s money flowing and the companies are growing. You look at the Xenon’s, Zymeworks’ and Aquanox’s of the world, and there is obviously some success stories out there and that’s generating a buzz What was very interesting around the table and you heard a bit of it here at the Bloom Burton event is that often we’re just too Canadian. We’re not thinking or talking global enough and we’re not being big and bold. You know if you talk to an American company and ask, “What do you want to be?” An American company says “I want to be the only therapy in ALS. That’s my objective.” It’s like go big or go home mentality. A lot of the people are saying as Canadians, stop being so timid and be less Canadian. In many respects, get out there, be bold and be brash. Go against what is your natural cultural instinct. Really change the image of the industry a little bit. That got to be a very interesting discussion and became sort of the theme of the conference in an organic way. Q: What are BIOTECanada’s goals for this year’s BIO Conference? What’s the message that you’re taking with you to BIO?

The conference has changed over the past couple years but it’s still probably the preeminent trade show in the industry, in the world. There’s none bigger. Some are more targeted in focus whether it’s the science or the business aspect of the industry, but this is the Superbowl for anyone involved in the sector. It’s a really important conference to be at, to be seen.

In terms of our goals, we want to spread the message to the world that Canada is the place to be, that we’re a biotech hub and that we are open for business. I think we stack up very well against the competition. If you take everything from British Columbia to PEI and put it all together, we are as big and powerful as the biggest biotech jurisdictions. Just in classic Canadian style, we have it all spread around. But we have all the right pieces, like great science, great researchers, fantastic universities and government programs in place to help your businesses grow. We’re a great country to do business in. More companies need to come here. More investors need to come here. I think it’s on

MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS MAY COME OUT OF THE LAB. BUT THEY BEGIN IN THE HEART.

For more than 150 years, a very special passion has driven the people at Merck. Our goal is to develop medicines, vaccines and animal health innovations that will improve the lives of millions. Still, we know there is much more to be done. And we’re doing it, with a long-standing commitment to research and development. We’re just as committed to expanding access to healthcare and working with others who share our passion to create a healthier world. Together, we’ll meet that challenge. With all our heart.

Copyright ©2015 Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., All rights reserved.

ONTARIO ONTARIO

the upswing. So that’s our message to the world.

Our message to Canadians and Canadian companies that will be there is that we are here to support you. That’s probably the biggest job for us at a conference of this magnitude where you’re talking about 15,000 people all together in one place, that’s a lot of ground to cover. We’re here to help Canadian companies meet as many people as possible. It’s really one of the key things that we do. Our brand has to be out there and to showcase our companies is ultimately the most important thing.

I’d also like to add that every year we also honour some of our best companies and individuals who have made significant achievements through our Gold Leaf Awards program. We will be honouring our winners at the conference.

Q: It’s a question we get asked all the time and I’d be really interested in your take on this question: what is the return on investment for companies that attend?

It’s a really difficult question to answer because of the answer depends on the metrics involved. The temptation at the conclusion of the event is to ask companies in a traditional sense how their sales improved, but you can’t measure our industry in that way. As much as we wish it were this way, it’s not how our industry works. Rather, it’s about establishing or strengthening relationships. You literally have to accept the fact that a company who comes back and says, “We had 15 more meetings and those led to five new relationships,” had a successful trip. Even with our Whistler event, I can’t point to a single company that because of the event in Whistler, they got this ‘x’ amount of dollars. But they’ll all say it was a relationship that started there that led to something else, or an existing relationship that was nurtured because they attended the conference, or a potential partnership was sparked from their meetings. I think you could make the case that if you didn’t go you’d feel the impact. You have to be there, you have to be part of it, you have to be seen and you have to have presence. That’s all part of saying you’re on the world stage and accept the fact that this is a global competitive playing field and you have to be part of it.

Q: There have been some rumblings from some of the Ontario folks of bringing the Bio Conference back to Toronto. Has BIOTECanada put any thought to this and can it work in Ontario, or even Canada?

We have thought about the possibility because it was very successful when Toronto hosted it in 2002. By all accounts, with more than 14,000 delegates, it was one of the best attended ones in its history to that point. If it came back here would it be great? Yes, it would be outstanding. I think we’d make the thing sing and it would be just off the charts amazing. If it was Toronto again, there is lots of scientific excellence and infrastructure here to tap into, and it would be a great showcase of the great science in the Discovery District, Pill Hill in Mississauga, but also the rest of Canada. I think because Toronto is easier to get to for all the U.S. travelers, along with Toronto’s reputation as an international hub, I think it would be a fantastic way to put the thing on steroids. Could it take place elsewhere in Canada? I think it could. Obviously Québec would be another ideal location, as it is home to many Canadian subsidiaries for big pharma. The fact that the BIO organization already has a footprint in Montreal having hosted its World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology there shows they’re very familiar with Québec and the opportunities of hosting the event there. So, there are many reasons to try and bring it here. The challenge, if I understand the business model correctly, is that you have to get the space to host the event for free. That’s how the Bio organization makes it work. It’s a multimillion dollar venture for them. It’s how they make their money. So they cut back on their costs and charge everybody for the space and all the rest of it and they make their cash. Could you get a place like the Metro Toronto Convention Trade Centre for free? I don’t know. I do know they’re getting really significant deals from Philadelphia, from San Diego, and all the other locations they’ve held the event. So if the logistics can be worked out, it would be fantastic to have it here. I think it’s a natural fit, it would not only benefit the City of Toronto, it would benefit the province, but most importantly it would benefit the entire industry in Canada.

To see this story online visit http://biotechnologyfocus.ca/qa-with-biotecanadasceo-and-president-andrew-casey

JUNE 2015

June 2-5

Canadian Materials Science Conference Venue: Halifax, NS Email: contact@gmail.com Web: http://cmscconf.org/

June 7-8

Personalized Medicine Summit Venue: Vancouver, BC Email: summit.2015@ubc.ca Web: www.personalizedmedsummit.com

SEPTEMBER 2015

September 28-30

Sherbrook International Life Sciences new card:Layout 1 1/31/2013 9:09 AM Page 1 Summit Twitter: @SILS_Sherbrooke Email: info@sils-sherbrooke.com Tel: +1 819 821-5577 / 1 877 211-5326 Web: http://sils-sherbrooke.com/

June 13-17

Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition Venue: Ottawa, ON Tel: 613-232-6252 Email: acampbell@cheminst.ca Web: www.csc2015.ca

OCTOBER 2015

October 4-7

Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference Venue: Calgary, AB Tel: 613-232-6252 Fax: 613-232-5862 Email: acampbell@cheminst.ca Web: www.csche2015.ca

October 27-28

BioPort Atlantic Venue: Halifax, NS Email: jgillis@bionova.ca

SRC101

June 15-18

Bio International Convention Venue: Philadelphia, PA Tel: +1.202.962.6655 Email: convention@bio.org Web: http://convention.bio.org/2015/

June 20-24

Canadian Laboratory Medicine Congress Venue: Montreal, QC Tel: 613-531-9210 Email: info@clmc.ca Web: www.clmc.ca/2015/

JULY 2015

July 5-9

International Rapeseed Congress Venue: Saskatoon, SK Twitter: @agwestbio #IRC2015 Tel: 306-975-1939 Fax: 306-975-1966 Email: irc2015@agwest.sk.ca Web: https://event-wizard.com/irc2015/0/ welcome/

July 12-14

World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology Venue: Montreal, QC Twitter: #BIOWC15 Email: info@bio.org Web: www.bio.org/events/conferences/ world-congress-industrial-biotechnology

July 22-24

Advanced Biofuels Symposium Venue: Montreal, QC Tel. 514-508-2884 Fax. 514-508-4336 Email: info@biofuelnet.ca Web: www.biofuelnet.ca/news-and-events/ advanced-biofuels-symposium-2015/

I wish to receive/continue to receive a complimentary subscription to BIOTECHNOLOGY FOCUS Yes No

Format Preference: print digital both Signature: ____________________________________ Date: ___________________________

Name: _________________________________ Title: ____________________________________

Company: ______________________________ Dept: ___________________________________ Business Address : _______________________________________________________________

City: _____________________________ Prov: __________ Postal Code: ____________________

Telephone: ___________________________

Fax: ______________________________________ E-mail: ________________________________________________________________________

On occasion, BIOTECHNOLOGY FOCUS will send third-party information on products & services related to the lab and life science industries. These may be cancelled at any time. Please check here if you do NOT wish to receive these.

JOB FUNCTION

50 C Level Management 50a Engineer 51b Principal Investigator / Research Scientist 51c Professor / Faculty 53a Group / Project Leader 53b Procurement / Supply Chain 53c R&D Director / Manager 54 Legal / Financial / Administration / Regulatory / Communications 55 Post Doc / PhD Student 58 Professional Services / Consulting 59 Lab Technician / Research Assistant 60 Sales / Marketing 62 IT Management 63 Nurse / Practitioner 64 Pharmacist 65 Physician 99 Other (Specify):

COMPANYs PRIMARY BUSINESS ACTIVITY

50 Academic 50a Biotech Organization 50b Clean Tech organization 50c Contract Research / Manufacturing Organization 50d Diagnostics Organization 50f Food processing / manufacturing 50g Instrument Manufacturer / Distributor 50h Packaging / Distribution 50i Pharmaceutical Organization 50j Professional Services (legal, financial, consulting, recruiting, regulatory, communications) 52 Clinical Research / Hospital 53 Research Institute 55 Government Agency 99 Other (specify):

C86 Buying Influence C87 Which products are used in your lab?

A Analysis Instruments B Basic Lab Equipment C Chemicals/Biochemicals D Chromatography – Gas E Chromatography – Liquid F Filtration, Water Purification G LIMS H Liquid Handling & Sample Prep I Microscopes, Optics, Cameras J Safety & Hygiene K Spectroscopy L Testing Systems/Equipment M Vacuum Equipment Y None of the Above

C88 Product Development Stage (check all that apply)

A Research/Development B Pilot/Scaleup C Production/Manufacturing D Tech Transfer E Not applicable

C89 Are you building a new lab? Yes No

C90 We have the following enewsletters:

1 Biotechnology Focus eBulletin 2 Laboratory focus eBulletin 3 BioPharma 4 BioMedical 5 Health Care 6 Agri-Food 7 Clean Tech 8 Industry Inte