National Advocacy Day

National Biotechnology Week (September 16 - 23) directly engaged over 5,000 people in every region of the country in a national program informing Canadians and sharing our biotechnology excellence. Participants took advantage of educational forums, career fairs, toured biotech companies, and shared with others the value biotechnology offers to our health, our economy, and our future. Congratulations to all who organized events in their local community. The week, produced in coordination with BIOTECanada and its national organization partners, included events for everyone across Canada.

NBW Highlights in the Regions

Charlottetown, PEI - The Art of Science & Business
A celebration of research, business and Island artwork took place at the University of Prince Edward Island featuring the crossroads of culture and science. Displays included research posters as well as original work by Island artisans.

Sackville, NB - BioSciences Achievement Award
New Brunswick's best and brightest biotechnology entrepreneurs joined one of England's leading experts on tech clusters. IdeaSpace Enterprise Accelerator is an organization supporting the creation of firms in Cambridge. BioAtlantech and Tech South East gathered in Sackville as part of the province's National Biotechnology Week events.

Montreal, QC - BIOQuebec Annual Meeting
Along with back-to-business networking cocktail reception.

London, ON - BioOlympics
Students had the opportunity to learn about biotechnology through a competition aptly named, BIOlympics. London students were learning while competing against each other during the recent BIOlympics at Centennial Hall.

Winnipeg, MB - Inner City Science Centre Student Tours  
Life Science Association of Manitoba arranged for students of various age groups and schools to use the Inner City Science Centre. The Centre, located in Niji Mahkwa School on Flora Avenue, brings school children together with university professors, graduate students, and science enthusiasts, using the same sophisticated equipment as the University of Manitoba medical campus.

Saskatoon, SK - The Amazing Biotech Race
This fun event helped biotechnology students from SIAST and the U of S connect with industry. The Amazing Biotech Race  took place at Innovation Place, students searched for clues and took part in quick lab "challenges" earning them the next clue. They met industry leaders and became familiar with Saskatoon companies along the way. 

Edmonton, AB - Meet and Greet with Elected Officials
MLAs and MPs received a sampling of this industry's initiatives and products in person. They toured Edmonton-based life science companies and met with senior representatives. A networking luncheon followed the tours, when the State of the Industry 2011 Report was jointly launched by BioAlberta and Deloitte. This report presents the current state of the Alberta life science industry in terms of size and scope of the industry, employment, revenue/income/financing, and stage of development.

Vancouver, BC - Bridging Mind-to-Market Gap Featuring 
Dr. Martin Gleave
The Vancouver Prostate Centre is a UBC National Centre of Excellence and one of the world's most comprehensive prostate cancer research and treatment facilities, housing a multidisciplinary team of 20 scientists and clinicians. This presentation provided an overview of the translational research enterprise at the Prostate Centre, reviewed the discovery and development of OGX-011 currently in Phase III registration trials in prostate and lung cancer.