Innovation Incubator

québec

Incubating innovation in Québec

As a world leader in the life sciences, Québec has always put a strong emphasis on synergy and collaboration. Therefore, it is only natural that the province is home to the Québec Biotechnology Innovation Centre (CQIB), a life sciences incubator that for the past 17 years has been growing strong businesses and helping start-ups enter the industry.

Based out of Laval, the CQIB is a not-for-profit organization that provides physical workspace and business advice to early stage companies in the life sciences or health technology industries.

The business incubator was founded in 1995, by Laval Technopole and the INRS - IAF (Institut national de la recherche scientifique - Institut ArmandFrappier).

“It was a question of mutual success,” says executive director of CQIB, Dupuis Angers. “The development people were referring clients for the incubator, and Laval Technopole was using it as a part of their marketing program, to promote the overall area and make it what it is today.”

The incubator soon became a part of various technology and business networks, both in Canada and abroad, offering its mentoring services across Québec as well as internationally.

In 2002, the organization was recognized with the “Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year Award” from the National Business Incubation Association. With this distinction under its belt, in 2003 the CQIB relocated to the Laval Biotechnology Development Centre (LBDC), a 128,000 square foot building dedicated to the life sciences.

It is here that fledgling entrepreneurs or well-seasoned veterans with start-up companies can apply to the CQIB to rent laboratory and office space in the incubator. CQIB’s location is a strategic one, as the building is located at the core of Laval’s Biotech City, which has a bio-cluster of more than 80 companies.

“Laval has always been very committed to the life sciences sector,” says Angers. “It’s a good location. It’s one of the biggest advantages: the location of the Centre, and also the fiscal programs that have been put in place for the entrepreneurs to work with.”

CQIB’s proximity to the life sciences community, and its financial services, are strong attractions for entrepreneurs looking for help cracking into the industry.

For Angers, who leads the CQIB along with five team members and a board of directors, helping entrepreneurs go through the incubator is a passion close to his heart.

“I really am an entrepreneur at heart,” says Angers, who has a Bachelor in Pharmacy, a Master’s in business administration from Harvard University, and 35 years’ experience in the private sector.

“I like to support entrepreneurs to build their businesses up. That’s the thing I enjoy most, working with entrepreneurs and giving them a hand to make their companies go forward.”

As of Dec. 31, 2011, 39 start-up companies have participated in the program, while generating over $70 million in revenues. Through CQIB’s help, these companies have made a significant economic impact.

Over the years, it has developed a business model for helping entrepreneurs create and start a business. The secret in part is being adaptable, Angers says.

“I would say being flexible, that’s a very, very important point,” says Angers. “When a company needs to adapt to a certain environment; they can rely on us to help them do that.”

CQIB is located at the core of Laval’s Biotech City on the grounds of the INRS-IAF.

CQIB offers fully furnished laboratory suites and specialized equipment to start-up companies

Along with flexibility, the CQIB provides incubating companies with a combination of workspace, support services and mentoring from Montréal InVivo. The incubator also provides access to biotech facilities and equipment, as well as a broad consultant network.

For a company to be accepted to the incubator, CQIB looks at its financial capabilities, overall business plan, and its IP, or its platform for developing IP. Angers stresses that they do not look as much at revenue, as this is difficult to predict with early stage companies. Along with these requirements, the CQIB looks for a little something extra.

“We always like it when there’s a part of the business plan that has got some innovation, either short or medium term,” says Angers.

For those first applying, there are two programs to choose from: pre-incubation or incubation. The pre-incubation program looks more to university researchers or entrepreneurs who do not yet have a firm business plan for a potential company.

“Such projects are more upstream, earlier in the process,” says Angers. “They will need some support to put their business plan and financial projections together, so we help them off-site to get ready to get incubated.”

For companies accepted to the incubation program, they can run their businesses out of the incubator, with the CQIB helping tackle administrative hurdles.

“They don’t have to have people managing specific tasks from an administrative or operational viewpoint, we do it for them,” says Angers. “So basically, we free up their time, and they can spend more time developing new projects with customers, or spending more time in the lab and things like that.”

Along with freeing up time for R&D, being within the CQIB gives companies a fiscal advantage by offering easier access to funding sources. For R&D companies renting space in the LBDC build-

ing where the CQIB is located, Investissement Québec offers tax breaks on scientific equipment purchase or rentals, as well as the salaries for employees using said equipment.

As a private not-for-profit that is currently receiving most of its funding from the federal and provincial governments, as well as the city of Laval, strengthening its finances is an important issue for the CQIB. In the future, Angers hopes for the organization to receive more business and private sector influence, as well as investment.

While currently there are 10 companies in the incubator, the CQIB has helped produce 20 other companies with diverse backgrounds, from bio-therapeutics and diagnostics to contract research organizations, agri-food and medical devices.

Its impressive list of graduates includes: Angiochem, Bio-K Plus International, BioQuadrant, CIRION Biopharma, Harmonium International, Replicor, and Warnex.

The probiotic company Bio-K Plus International has been with the CQIB since its inception. It was through the CQIB that the company developed its nutraceutical line over 15 years ago.

“At first they were using the facilities here to make some small batches, to put together their quality programs, and develop their scientific argumentation to go on the market,” says Angers. “They used this as a base.”

Since then, Bio-K Plus International has built its own facilities for production, although the company retains close ties with the CQIB. Bio-K Plus has started a new division of the company on the pharmaceutical side that is currently renting space in the incubator.

Another more recent success story is Paraza Pharma, which has grown rapidly in the incubator. At present, the drug development company occupies the largest amount of space at the CQIB.

“When they started last year they had one employee, and now they are 10 and they are moving forward to double the size of people within the next year, to go up to 20,” says Angers.

In the future, as the incubator continues to produce successful companies like Paraza Pharma, Angers recognizes that there is always room for improvement. This includes keeping an eye out for more pre-incubation companies.

“Right now we have much more in incubation. We have to reach out for pre-incubation companies,” says Angers. “We have to perDupuis Angers – CQIB’s Executive Director

form a lot more in that viewpoint, because when you have a good pipeline of pre-incubation, then they become your “incubees,” whereas if you don’t have many, you start directly with the incubation.”

Along with focusing on early stage projects, the incubator will continue providing and improving its services, as it helps companies go from concept to concrete.

“Improvement of services, I think it’s very, very important,” says Angers. “I think we have to be better at developing links with university, and we have to keep up our good reputation that we have a good batting average at the end of the day.”

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