GENOMICS RESEARCH By Alison Symington
ONTARIO
GENOMICS: MAKING A DIFFERENCE Much has been written lately about the lack of translation of Canadian research discoveries into the marketplace, especially in the area of genomics. The rhetoric of the “valley of death” that straddles the passage of discovery to marketplace is dominated by a discussion about the lack of venture capital or lack of a thriving entrepreneurial spirit in many of the research laboratories in Canada.
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Biotechnology Focus / June 2012
While many support this point of view, there are examples that show that genomics has started to come of age and is ready and poised to provide specific solutions to meet the demands of a market-driven economy. A report released by Battelle Technology Partnership Practice in May 2011 clearly indicates such a trend, that indeed, genomics can have an impact on economic growth and job creation. In its study on the economic impact of genomics technologies and the Human Genome Project in the U.S., BTPP reported that between 1998 and 2010, the Human Genome Project along with associated research and industry generated over US$790 billion and created over 310,000 jobs with only an initial investment of US$3.8 billion. In 2010 alone, there was over US$3.7 billion dollars in taxes generated by this exciting field. Canada with its clear global
leadership in research in the genomic sciences can take note of this as it seeks to translate its genomic discoveries into the marketplace. In Ontario, two companies: DVS Sciences and FIO Corporation, provide excellent examples of the impact that genomic science can have both locally and globally. DVS Sciences is an Ontario success story having developed and now marketing a high throughput mass cytometer, the CyTOF®, which provides researchers with data about multiple markers on the surface of individual cells at any one time. This data is essential in providing researchers the ability to look at individual cells and make predictions about disease and drug interactions. In 2011, the CyTOF® was described as a “game changer in biological science” by the journal, Science and in Jan. 2012, was recognized as one of the top 10 innovations in science
