The Growth of Biotechnology in Toronto and its Potential to Change Lives
Toronto is leading the biotech industry in Canada. From startups and established biotechnology firms opening offices in the city to investment opportunities, there are many reasons why the region is the country’s largest life sciences hub. These reasons also make Toronto an ideal location for obtaining a post-secondary education to succeed in biotech, which uses biological processes to develop technologies and products for healthcare, agriculture, and environmental sustainability.
Here’s what you need to know about Toronto’s role in addressing health and environmental challenges through biotechnology — and how Northeastern University in Toronto’s Master of Science in Biotechnology aligns with the industry’s needs.
What’s Behind the Growth of Biotechnology?
Toronto’s life sciences sector employs nearly 30,000 professionals and contributes more than $2 billion to the local economy. Opportunities include research in hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical and diagnostic labs, research and development services, and medical instrument manufacturing.
Part of the reason for this boom is that governments at all levels support the sector’s development. In June, the Ontario government announced that it is investing $40 million to help local life sciences companies and biomanufacturers innovate, grow and compete in global markets. Over the last three-and-a-half years, Ontario has also seen $4 billion in investments by global biomanufacturers and life sciences companies.
Among them are giants in the pharmaceutical sector. In fact, over half of Canada’s pharmaceutical companies are located in the Greater Toronto Area. Nearly 50 major multinational organizations—including AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson, Gilead, and Pfizer—have set up shop in and around the city.
Organizations and Biotechnology Companies Call Toronto Home
In addition to pharmaceutical companies, Toronto is home to startups, industry organizations, and accelerators and incubators.
For example, Cyclica was a wildly successful start-up built and based in Toronto. Its work focused on AI-driven drug discovery, and in 2023 it was acquired by Recursion for $40 million. Other notable biotechnology companies Toronto hosts are Deep Genomics, which aims to combine AI with RNA biology to create better treatments for genetic diseases, and Sanofi, one of the country’s top life sciences investors and its largest vaccine producer. In 2022, Sanofi opened an Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence in Toronto, joining its existing digital hub network.
In the accelerator and incubator space, organizations such as CCRM (Centre for the Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine), FACIT (the commercialization arm of the Ontario Cancer Research Institute), and the Canadian site of JLABS (a Johnson & Johnson business initiative that provides a platform for emerging companies to transform scientific discoveries into healthcare products), are all based in Toronto.
A Master’s Degree that Prepares You for the Biotech Industry
This growth of biotechnology in Toronto is attracting top talent to universities that offer relevant programs. One reputable school is Northeastern University in Toronto, which, in addition to a full-time option, offers the only part-time Master of Science in Biotechnology program in the region. An innovative, nonthesis graduate degree, this MS in Biotech combines training in biotechnology, biology, chemistry, and pharmaceutical sciences with business skills.
Throughout their studies, students gain the “power skills” they need for today’s biotech industry, including critical thinking and problem-solving.
In addition to a hands-on lab course, students work on real-life problems in the classroom, including a capstone course with external partners. An optional co-op gives students the opportunity to apply their knowledge at one of the numerous biotechnology companies based in Toronto.
The biotech industry is expected to experience challenges in filling all the new jobs created, creating more opportunities. Between 2025 and 2029, jobs will continue growing at a rate of around one percent. Based on these predictions, the industry will employ over 233,000 people by the end of the decade.
How the Biotech Industry Addresses Health and Environmental Challenges
Northeastern University in Toronto graduates thrive in the biotech, life sciences, and pharmaceutical industries. They solve some of our biggest health and environmental challenges.
In health, for example, biotechnology has the potential to create novel diagnostics, vaccines, drugs, and other medical countermeasures to detect, prevent, and treat infectious diseases.
Agricultural biotechnology, meanwhile, uses selective breeding, genetic engineering, gene editing, and tissue culture to accelerate and complement traditional approaches. Today, some of the most exciting agricultural research takes place below the soil as scientists study the power of microbiomes and root structures to counter climate change.
By: Izabela Shubair
Sources:
https://goldbeck.com/blog/vibrant-biotech-scene-toronto-ottawa-industry-report/
https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1004675/ontario-investing-40-million-in-life-sciences-sector
https://toronto.northeastern.edu/academic_program/master-of-science-in-biotechnology/
https://www.investontario.ca/article/top-ontario-biotech-companies-watch-2023