People say that Genome Canada manages its money like a venture capital fund. That is good or bad, depending on whom you are talking to. When we invest in long-term research projects, we make sure that there can be an outcome of some kind within five years. I will give you two examples. The first is from Newfoundland where we identified the two genes responsible for right ventricular arrhythmia in the heart. We are talking about people 22, 23, 24 or 25 years old, with no cardio-vascular symptoms but who suddenly die without warning. The Newfoundland government has offered to do free genetic screening tests for their families. When the defective gene is detected, the person is given a pacemaker and they survive. So there is a very significant social and economic impact.
The other example is from Quebec City, where Dr. Michel Bergeron's research has developed a device into which a drop of blood or saliva can be placed. When someone comes to Emergency with a two-year-old with fever, no one knows whether the flu-like infection is bacterial or viral. If it is bacterial, the patient can die. Doctors prescribe antibiotics to reduce the risks. But now we can find out within 45 minutes if the infection is bacterial, and, if so, the kind of bacterium and the antibiotic needed. The good news economically is that the multinational company Becton Dickinson has announced that it will invest $300 million in the Quebec City technology park so that it can manufacture and develop the product.