"Our industry is maturing on an international scale," said Carl B. Feldbaum, President of BIO (Biotechnology Industry Organization), in reference to the global emergence of companies and technologies that capitalize on the attributes of cells and biological molecules, such as DNA and proteins.

The growth of biotechnology is evident on may levels, not the least is the scale of BIO 2002, the recent international meeting in Toronto. BIO's 1994 convention, held in Toronto, was attended by about 2,000 delegates from 21 nations, staying in three local hotels. Eight years later, BIO 2002 was back in Toronto commandeering 15 hotels to house the more than 15,000 delegates, thirty per cent of whom were from more than 48 countries outside North America.

In January 1993, the biotech index was 0.6 per cent of the total Toronto Stock Exchange Index. As of March 2002, the biotech segment was 3.2 per cent of the index with 26 companies in the top 300, according to a senior Canadian research analyst. Research and development spending has reached C$2 billion in 2002 - double 1998 levels -- and Canadian biotech revenues are expected to exceed C$5 billion this year. Canadian biotech firms cover a range of sectors including health, agriculture, environment, food processing, natural resources and aquaculture.

Although each province has at least a few biotech companies, biotechnology in Canada is concentrated in three significant clusters: Quebec (Montreal), Ontario (Toronto and Ottawa) and British Columbia (Vancouver).

Why are new biotech companies expected to flock to these clusters rather than springing up across the country?

"Fifty percent of the cost associated with (developing a biotech company) is linked to personnel, so the first thing to look for is a good technical base," said Michel Leonard, President of Staubach Canada Inc., a Canadian commercial real estate leasing firm, with a specialty in biotech, that negotiates "built-to-suit" contracts for their biotech clients.

"Why is Toronto on the radar screen? Why is Montreal on the radar screen? Why is Ottawa on the radar screen? It's because of higher education. In the next 5 years, we expect the (clustering) to continue because of education, because of what universities are doing -- universities are incubators for biotech research."

When Staubach launched its biotech client services ten years ago, this real estate business was fueled by venture capitalists. Now, specialized life sciences companies that know little about leasing and development rely on Staubach's focus "on representing the user of space instead of representing the owner." The expansion of biotechnology has led to a major line of real estate business, one that promises to expand as this industry grows to multibillion-dollar proportions.

But in spite of breakthroughs in mapping the human genome, cloning animals, isolating human embryonic stem cells, developing insect-resistant crops and creating dozens of new medicines, many Canadians feel government "cheerleaders" are too quick off the mark.

"We don't know where this is going to go, and that's what makes it so xciting" was a common expression at the conference. Those in opposition to the biotech movement argue that "we don't know where this is going" is the best reason to slowdown since biotechnologies are too new to trust absolutely.

Published: June 25, 2002

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