Evidence of meeting #87 for Health in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was industry.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
I hate to interrupt you, but we only have a few seconds left.
Dr. Paige, I think you wanted to make a comment.
5:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Research, University Health Network, Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations
The comment is that organizations like research hospitals need to be responsible for moving these forward. We have some scientists who are good entrepreneurs, who can raise money, who come up with the idea, and have taken products straight through to being sold in the clinic—the little blue pill. It takes a long time, but it has happened. We have other scientists who have come up with an amazing discovery that we know is the basis of a platform technology that will have commercial venture. They're not interested in going any further on that. We find the people, then, who can take it further because we don't want to let that technology fail. Again, there's not one size that fits all in this industry.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
We're pretty well out of time, Mr. Casey. Do you have a quick comment?
5:25 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, BIOTECanada
Thank you for your indulgence, Madam Chair.
Very quickly, the car was a wonderful invention, but the assembly line was one of the processes that allowed the car to be commercial. Likewise, in our industry, I have a number of member companies. I'll give one example, which was working on a molecule and it was using 3-D modelling on computers. It's now selling the 3-D modelling as a process to other companies, as well as working on its molecules. So it's two bits of intellectual property that are worth value, but one is also driving revenue that allows the other to develop.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
Thank you so much.
This has been an extraordinary group of people who we've brought together today. You've been amazing in terms of some new ideas, new insights, and new advice. We appreciate that very much as a committee.
I want to thank you for taking your time and bringing your expert analysis of technological innovation here to our committee.
I want to thank all the committee members. Your questions were amazing.
We will adjourn. That will give you a chance to say a quick thank you to our guests.
Thank you.