Thank you, Madam Chair.
It's a pleasure to be back with the committee this evening.
My name is Stéphanie Michaud. I'm joined by our scientific director, Dr. John Bell, an internationally recognized research scientist in the development of immunotherapies as cancer treatments. Together, we work closely with partners from multiple sectors, all aligned with our ambitious vision: to make all cancers curable diseases.
When we hear the word “moon shot”, it is often prefaced by the word “cancer”, reflecting the indisputable reach of this disease, which affects one in two Canadians and leads to the death of one-quarter of our population. That number is increasing as we speak due to pandemic-related delays.
There is also a cost, which was $26.2 billion in 2021 alone, with $4.8 billion of that amount representing the direct out-of-pocket costs that are borne by cancer patients and their families. Cancer is a grand challenge for Canadians, anchored in unaddressed real-world needs. This fits the Brookfield Institute's definition, which is laid out in “Canada's Moonshot”, as previously noted by other witnesses at this committee.
The U.S. and the EU are treating cancer as a moon shot by investing significant sums of money and setting ambitious goals to move the needle. Canada has also invested in a mission-oriented type of approach—albeit at a much smaller scale—with BioCanRx. With Canada's support, BioCanRx is tackling one of Canada's wicked problems: the lack of coordination and support for translational research and biomanufacturing. In so doing, Canada's investment has allowed BioCanRx to achieve remarkable success in the development of novel immunotherapies and deliver results for Canadian patients today.