The fourth claim made by TPP critics is that the Canadian system already provides sufficient intellectual property supports for life sciences competition and innovation.
Mr. Chair, in the life sciences context, patents and data protection act as incentives for biopharmaceutical companies to make enormous R and D investments necessary for new innovative medicines. New medicines cost on average $2 billion to develop, and take 10 to 15 years through the regulatory research and development pathways, yet Canada affords less IP protection than its G7 counterparts and many other industrialized countries provide.
The intellectual property provisions agreed upon through the CETA negotiations between Canada and Europe do take very positive steps in helping to level the playing field between Canada and the EU and other developed countries around the world. For example, since the first announcement of CETA in 2013, my company, Janssen, has committed $1 billion in life sciences investment to Canada.
The IP provisions in CETA were not the only impetus for this investment, but they were certainly a critical catalyst toward enabling us to put Canada on the global investment radar screen of our company. Included in these investments are some living examples, such as the recently launched, on May 11, JLABS @ Toronto, which will house up to 50 Canadian life sciences innovators, removing the financial barriers that start-ups face in making their discoveries and helping them to do what they do best: discover, invent, and create life-saving technologies.
But to reiterate, that's CETA, and this panel is exploring TPP. We believe TPP will have little, if any, impact on Canada in regard to pharmaceutical IP, and is largely in line with what this country already has in place and what is already agreed to in the CETA text.
We would draw the committee's attention to a recent article by my colleague Mr. Hamill that Mr. Barry Sookman tabled in his appearance before this committee a few weeks ago. It provides a more fulsome analysis of the basic provisions of CETA, TPP, and the various IP provisions of Canada and its major trading partners.
To sum up, Mr. Chair, as a matter of principle our association supports international trade agreements that help build Canada's economy. As Canada grows, we will continue to invest, continue to innovate, and ensure that patients have access to life-saving and life-improving medicines.
Thank you very much. Merci.