Manitoba seeks to grow innovation, investment in bioscience sector

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The province is launching a new clinical trials office to fast-track health research and creating an initiative to grow Manitoba’s bioscience sector.

Research Improvements Through Harmonization in Manitoba (RITHIM) will bring industry partners together to streamline the review system so research projects can be approved faster and more efficiently. The new electronic system will also create a single co-ordinated application process.

MLAs Renée Cable, Jamie Moses and Mike Moroz made the announcement Wednesday at Red River College Polytechnic’s Notre Dame Avenue campus in Winnipeg.

RITHIM and the clinical trials office will make it “easier, faster and more efficient” for innovation and investment in the biosciences field in Manitoba, said Cable, the advanced education and training minister.

It will create jobs and signal to students in Manitoba there is a space for people who want to work in biosciences and do cutting-edge research in the province, she added.

The clinical trials office will build on Manitoba’s strength as Canada’s second-largest pharmaceutical exporter and a hub for biotech innovation, said Moses, who noted Manitoba’s biosciences sector adds $5.2 billion to the provincial GDP.

“We have a homegrown network of researchers (and) innovators … that are thriving and driving innovation and new health-care diagnostics and therapeutics right here in Manitoba,” said Moses, the business, mining, trade and job creation minister.

“This clinical trial office will help us leverage their success to even more strengths and success in the future and, on top of that, will attract new investment into our province.”

Research Manitoba, the provincial agency that promotes the funding of research, will lead RITHIM.

RITHIM director Liz Lylyk described the initiative as unique across Canada and said it will harmonize ethics, privacy and health institutional review processes to streamline health research approvals in Manitoba.

The project will create an ecosystem where researchers can focus on science, accelerate innovation and get solutions to the population faster, Lylyk said.

“RITHIM will be an essential element of growing health research here in Manitoba, leading to economic and social prosperity, as well as significant improvements in the health and well-being of Manitobans.”

The province’s biosciences sector is largely unknown but delivers more than 14,000 jobs to Manitobans, said Andrea Ladouceur, Bioscience Association Manitoba president and CEO.

“Research can have a long runway in its pursuit of being available to all,” she said. “RITHIM is a key component in helping us make sure that that process is done properly and within reasonable timelines.”

The government is investing $100,000 this year in the new clinical trials office, Moses said. The investment is part of Manitoba’s 2025-26 budget.

RITHIM and the clinical trials office will create more opportunities for businesses to invest in Manitoba, Moses added.

“Not only is this a signal that we’re ready to break down barriers to make sure investment happens in Manitoba quicker, but we’re also able to work in partnership with industry to understand their needs, listen to them and make sure that we take concrete action to make sure our Manitoba economy continues to grow,” he said.

“At the same time, it’s going to improve health-care outcomes for Manitobans.”

Wednesday’s briefing followed last month’s announcement the province is giving Research Manitoba an annual $5-million funding top-up.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca