Time to act on Canada’s stem cell science competitive advantage

Investors around the world are calling regenerative medicine one of the biggest frontiers of our time. The opportunities are extraordinary, and the potential economic and health benefits remarkable.

Throughout the world, countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan are striving to become world leaders in this promising new area. Canada has an incalculable advantage — we are already there. We have been leaders since James Till and Ernest McCulloch discovered stem cells more than 50 years ago. Canada’s foundational research in stem cell biology has underpinned all subsequent work on clinical applications in regenerative medicine, stem cell-related drug discovery, and cell and tissue engineering. Stem cell science is, truly, Canada’s science.

Today, researchers like Drs Harold Atkins (liver transplants and multiple sclerosis), Freda Miller (pediatric brain repair), Timothy Kieffer and James Shapiro (type 1 diabetes), and Michael LaFlamme and Gordon Keller (cardiac repair) are continuing to build on Canada’s advantage. Their work is leading to clinical innovations that will improve the health of Canadians, reduce healthcare costs, generate economic productivity, and further Canadian innovation. Canada is also home to a burgeoning regenerative medicine commercial sector with approximately two dozen biotech companies in play. This includes Stem Cell Technologies, an international leader in stem cell related-tools and technologies, and BlueRock Therapeutics, a new large-scale venture focused on cardiovascular and neurological conditions.

This past October, the Council of Canadian Academies brought together experts in regenerative medicine for a two-day workshop to consider how best to build on Canada’s excellence in regenerative medicine. Participants agreed that Canada’s long history of strong regenerative medicine research and innovation continues to attract international talent to Canada. The high quality of Canadian research is exemplified by the high impact of our research as measured through a bibliometric analysis conducted for the workshop.

The report stemming from the workshop concluded that Canada is well positioned to excel in regenerative medicine. However, for that to happen several factors must be addressed.

The first is to understand that innovation arises from high-quality, competitive research. It’s not like the eureka moment made famous by Archimedes in his bathtub. No, the path from research discovery to the market or the clinic is a long and arduous one. It requires support at every step of the way, from basic research, to developing an application in the lab, to testing it, first in the lab and then in humans and then making it a mainstay of clinical practice.

The innovations we are commercializing today are the result of basic research carried out 10, 20, even 30 years ago, that were supported along the continuum. And, without that support, we may find ourselves 10, 20, even 30 years from now with nothing in the regenerative medicine pipeline to commercialize.

Stable, predictable funding across the research continuum is critical. In that respect, Budget 2017 was encouraging for the stem cell research community, providing an additional $6 million to the sector through a year’s funding for the Stem Cell Network. That investment will help drive innovative therapies and treatments into the clinic and marketplace, and support the training of the next generation of stem cell researchers.

Second, the regenerative medicine community needs to speak with one voice, to tell Canadians about the results of investments in the field, to identify the community’s needs, and the potential rewards. The Regenerative Medicine Alliance of Canada (RMAC), seeded at the Council of Canadian Academies workshop, will bring together leaders in Canada’s regenerative medicine sector to share information, identify synergies, as well as areas of strength and potential growth for the sector, and find common ground upon which to move forward.

Finally, as a country, we need to prioritize. In the words of Ajay Agarwal, founder of the Creative Destruction Lab at the University of Toronto, “we need to double down on the people who are global leaders.” Regenerative medicine is at a tipping point in Canada. It’s time to build on our foundation of scientific excellence and harness the benefits of regenerative medicine for the health of Canadians and the economic prosperity of our nation.

Stem cell science must remain Canada’s science.

Dr Janet Rossant is President and Scientific Director, Gairdner Foundation and Chair of the CCA Steering Committee on Regenerative Medicine.

Dr. Michael Rudnicki is a Senior Scientist and Director, Regenerative Medicine Program and Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, CEO and Scientific Director, Stem Cell Network and Member of the CCA Steering Committee on Regenerative Medicine.