Building pharmaceutical sector strength

Manitoba’s bioscience industry is inking collaboration commitments with other provinces as U.S. researchers increasingly look to move operations to Canada.

Bioscience Association Manitoba signed a memorandum of understanding with BIOQuebec, its Quebec counterpart, in June.

BAM is aiming for two more such agreements before Christmas.

“They are bigger provinces, they have more resources dedicated to the sector, they are more globally known,” said Andrea Ladouceur, BAM president. “For Manitoba to be amongst those in a co-ordinated way, under an MOU, to help us collaborate — that’s the fastest, most effective approach to bringing more opportunities to Manitoba.”

Already, the pharmaceutical sector accounts for nearly seven per cent of Manitoba’s GDP. Pfizer, Bausch Health and Dynacare have bases in the province.

Ladouceur came into her role in January 2024; she’s been seeking ways to grow interprovincial collaboration since. The election of U.S. President Donald Trump and resulting trade war tensions have helped bolster collaborative sentiment, she said.

She’s clocked a “marked increase” in American companies enquiring about Manitoba. However, most queries are likely directed to larger provinces as U.S. research funds get slashed, she surmised.

BIOQuebec confirmed it’s fielded at least a dozen calls from Americans asking about relocating to the province since late spring. Life Sciences Ontario has discussed with a California-based business.

The MOU with BIOQuebec — and, potentially soon, others — is meant to “fill in the gaps in our ecosystem,” Ladouceur said. For example, if a Manitoba company needs a manufacturer for medicine it’s creating, BAM might direct them to a BIOQuebec member.

Quebec has also become “the epicentre” of service providers able to find international manufacturers and ingredient makers that Canadian pharmaceutical companies need, Ladouceur said.

She’s hoping if U.S. companies land in Quebec, they’ll be directed to Manitoba firms. BAM counts more than 200 members, including around 10 shared with BIOQuebec’s pool of at least 300.

Exposure to Manitoba might encourage Quebec companies to expand to the keystone province, Ladouceur said.

“This really is a limitless sector,” she added. “There’s more than enough for everybody.”

BIOQuebec’s interest in Manitoba stems from the province’s “dynamism,” said Benoît Larose, the organization’s chief executive.

“In our experience, the smaller ecosystems are more willing to do business abroad,” he said. “We don’t have to convince them to do things with us — they want to do things with us.”

BIOQuebec signed a memorandum of understanding with Life Sciences Ontario in March. Threats from the United States led to the MOUs, Larose said, noting BIOQuebec already had relationships with both associations.

“(It) was a signal that we wanted to send to our own members,” he said. “We should all be looking at the resources within Canada before considering doing business elsewhere.

“The ‘elbows-up’ attitude, that’s what we decided to do.”

Both Larose and Ladouceur noted U.S. tariffs and funding cuts have locked their members in uncertainty. Manitoba businesses import active pharmaceutical ingredients from the U.S. and export finished products south of the border.

(Manitoba exported $211 million worth of packaged medicine in 2025’s first quarter, a 70.5 per cent drop from the prior year. The Manitoba Bureau of Statistics pointed to a decline in U.S. imports.)

Collaboration between provincial bioscience associations started growing pre-COVID-19 pandemic, said Jason Field, president of Life Sciences Ontario.

The groups sit on the National Biotech Accord. Closeness emerged around 2017, when Ottawa sought to reform the patented medicine prices review board and drew industry pushback. It grew during the COVID-19 pandemic — while eyes were on pharmaceutical makers — and has continued during the Trump administration’s latest reign, Field said.

“It’s a real opportunity for Canada to differentiate itself on a global stage and be really competitive,” Field said. “But … we have to make this an attractive business environment.”

There’s a gap in funding for bioscience companies who’ve reached the $2 million to $10 million range, and regulatory bodies tasked with approving Canadian health products have lacked speed, he asserted.

Inventions often start in Canada and end up commercialized by other countries, said Mary Argent-Katwala, senior director of stakeholder engagement for the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization.

“If a company left Vancouver, it’s not that they’re necessarily going to another province. They’re probably going to Boston or San Diego,” Argent-Katwala said.

OBIO is considering signing MOUs with peers in other provinces, Argent-Katwala added.

Bioscience Association Manitoba aims to ink collaboration agreements across Canada. Such deals, including with BIOQuebec, could lead to more joint events and trade missions.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com