BioNova

Vibrant. It's a word the head of the provincial association for life sciences uses to describe the industry in Nova Scotia.

"When I think of vibrant, I think of something that's very alive and it's changing and growing and almost has a pulse of its own," says Marli MacNeil, chief executive officer of BioNova. "The life sciences industry in Nova Scotia has that. It's fascinating what is happening in this province in these companies."

The diversity of life sciences, branches of science that deal with living organisms, their relationships to each other and their environment, is evident in the BioNova website. It lists a number of industry sectors such as pharmaceutical and therapeutics; functional food and nutraceuticals; medical technologies and diagnostics; bioIT; bioproducts; and blue biotech (marine biotechnology). The association also includes contract researchers who provide specialized services to the industry.

MacNeil, from Dominion, Cape Breton Co., says about 85 per cent of industry efforts in the province go into creating products that help disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment. It is work that requires innovation, creativity and resourcefulness, qualities BioNova's team of five full-time employees also draw upon. The team supports the industry through networking and learning opportunities, advocacy, and keeping an eye to the future and emerging issues.

BioNova, based in Halifax, has 85 members across the province. Like many associations, it operates with limited resources. To make it work, BioNova borrows a page from its clients.

"I think we have learned well from them," MacNeil says. "It is pulling together the people that need to be together, the resources that we need to use, taking risks, taking that leap of faith sometimes that our companies need to do on a regular basis."

In addition to responding to members' current needs, BioNova anticipates the future. The association is part of a team working to develop a "road map" for Nova Scotia's life sciences industry.

Findings from an "asset map" released in June that depicts the province's life sciences industry today will be key to looking ahead. The report draws on information gathered from companies, research institutes and universities. BioNova led the project, working with a team of partners.

The economic contribution of life sciences to Nova Scotia was mapped as is potential contribution. The 2005 figures show companies employed 1,100 employees with an average salary of $53,000. Annual sales were more than $181 million. There were 480 products on the market with more than 300 in the works.

"The pipeline is a strong indicator of the health, sustainability and potential growth of the industry," the report states. "While it is impossible to accurately predict which of these research projects will actually develop into marketable products, company estimates indicate that the total revenue potential is in excess of $4 billion."

Research institutions engaged in life sciences work employed more than 2,300 with an average salary of $57,500. There were 310 projects under way, and 128 industry or institution partnerships.

"What we're trying to accomplish (with the roadmap) is a plan that takes into account our assets, what the global marketplace is going to look for, and how we as a community can bridge between the two," says MacNeil. "So it will look at opportunities and constraints; figure out ways to get around the constraints and optimize the opportunities."

While there are concerns, such as investment capital and the projected need for specialized workers, there are advantages Nova Scotia offers for the industry to prosper. A well-educated workforce and a "phenomenal research foundation are near the top of that list."

The province's numerous universities, joined with government research laboratories and research-oriented companies, provide "a significant amount of scientific knowledge that bodes well for now and in the future, says MacNeil.

She notes the province's proximity to major markets in the United States and Europe, is key, given that some 95 per cent of BioNova members' products are exported.

Robert Cervelli, president and CEO of Origin BioMed Inc. and a BioNova board member, says the province's life sciences sector is, "Primarily dominated by what you would call, grow-your-own companies that have started small, done the hard work, slowly gotten bigger and are becoming major employers."

Origin BioMed's leading product, Neuragen™, offers relief for people experiencing diabetic peripheral neuropathy -- nerve damage caused by diabetes that can cause "pins-and-needles pain that doesn't go away." Cervelli says Neuragen™7 can now be found in major drugstore chains in Canada, and the company is expanding rapidly into the United States.

Cervelli says BioNova has increased Origin BioMed's visibility: "It's helped us through networking both within the regional life sciences community, and nationally and internationally."

A key BioNova networking and learning event is BioPort Atlantic. People from across the country attend the conference, that also generates interest in the eastern United States and Europe.

The theme of BioPort Atlantic 2007, Sept. 26 and 27, is Going Glocal.

"The emphasis is on building companies that do business all over the world, but have their roots and their strength here in Atlantic Canada," says MacNeil.

MacNeil says Nova Scotia values and the respect residents share can be vital to growing companies.

"The individual's important but the individual can contribute to something bigger," MacNeil says. "I think that's here."

BioNova will continue to contribute to something bigger until, hopefully, it can step aside.

"Success ultimately for us will be the day when the industry is so strong and so powerful it doesn't need us anymore," says MacNeil.

Until then, BioNova will foster the innovation and growth of Nova Scotia's vibrant life sciences industry.

Feature story written by Marie Weeren