Montréal, Monday, November 16, 2020 ‒ The Strategic Forum on Life Sciences and Health Technology (LSHT), held as part of the Relaunch MTL movement, powered by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and its partners, gave close to 365 participants a chance to interact with 25 panelists about opportunities in the sector to drive the recovery and tackle current and future challenges.
The Chamber applauds the commitment of the Government of Québec, which recognizes the LSHT sector’s essential contribution to the economy of Greater Montréal. Quebec’s Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, took the opportunity of his appearance at the Forum to announce new measures representing an additional investment of $52 million to increase the availability of capital, support SMEs in their positioning for new business opportunities, and promote the integration, commercialization, and export of medical technologies.
During the event, many strategic partners in the life sciences industry identified major challenges made worse by the pandemic. Among the issues that affected the LSHT sector before the pandemic, the integration of innovations within the health care system continues to interest participants most.
Through its strategic role in the research, development, and production of diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines, the LSHT sector found itself on the front lines in the fight against the pandemic. Participants identified priority efforts to consolidate the industry’s foundations and ensure its growth as part of the economic relaunch.
For industry actors, governments need to prioritize accelerating and integrating innovations in the health care system, as well as improving and simplifying access to health data to strengthen the health care system. The current crisis has allowed the industry to seize the opportunity to integrate artificial intelligence at the service of health and to have better access to related health tools. These two factors will need to take shape in the long term.
Solutions were identified in a collaborative session during the Forum, following a situational analysis presented in the Action Plan to Strengthen the Life Sciences and Health Technology Sector, co-developed by the Chamber and Montréal InVivo, in cooperation with KPMG. The action plan pointed to the importance of the contribution of life sciences and health technology to the economy of the province and, more specifically, the city. This sector devotes major sums to research and attracts venture capital investment that well exceeds Quebec’s economic weight in Canada.
“We saw strong mobilization and effective collaboration among players in the sector at this morning’s Forum,” said Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. “The life sciences and health technology sector is built on innovation, and we need to facilitate its integration to every setting by accelerating investment. During the event, Quebec’s Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, announced an investment of $48 million to support businesses with strong growth potential, $1 million for a call for projects for innovative SMEs, and $3 million to stimulate exports. This is excellent news for this sector of the future.”
“From the beginning of the crisis, actors in the ecosystem mobilized in an unprecedented way to come to the aid of governments, health care professionals, and the public, by proposing innovative solutions for developing treatments and vaccines,” said Frank Béraud, president and CEO of Montréal InVivo. Advances on the administrative and regulatory fronts have emerged during the crisis. It is important to continue in this direction to provide local businesses and researchers a business environment that is even more competitive. The economic relaunch of Montréal and Quebec depends on the growth and success of the life sciences and health technology sector.”
The action plan enhanced with input from a collaborative session held as part of the Forum will soon be available on the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal website. While awaiting the updated version, you can find the action plan here.
About the Strategic Forum on life sciences and health technology
The Strategic Forum on life sciences and health technology, which is part of the Relaunch MTL movement, is jointly developed by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and Montréal InVivo, and presented by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ in cooperation with the Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, the law firm Dentons, and Innovative Medicines Canada.
About the Relaunch MTL movement
The Relaunch MTL movement is powered by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, the Government of Canada, the Government of Québec, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal and the Ville de Montréal, in association with Investissement Québec and the Palais des congrès de Montréal, and in cooperation with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Conseil emploi métropole, CN, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and KPMG. The movement is also created with the support of Air Canada, CGI, Desjardins, Hydro-Québec, La Presse, Montreal Gazette, RBC Royal Bank and Rio Tinto, and in partnership with Aéro Montréal, AluQuébec, the Association de la construction du Québec, the Quebec Film and Television Council, CargoM – Logistic and Transportation Metropolitan Cluster of Montréal, the Conseil québécois du commerce de détail, Culture Montréal, Écotech Québec, Femmessor, Finance Montréal, the Fonds de recherche du Québec, the Guilde du jeu vidéo du Québec, mmode – the Metropolitan Fashion Cluster, Montréal International, Montreal InVivo, Numana, Propulsion Québec and Tourisme Montréal. More details on the movement at www.relaunchMTL.ca.
About the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal
With a network of over 8,000 members, the CCMM is active on two fronts: being the voice of the Montréal business community and delivering specialized services to businesses and their representatives. With its finger on the pulse of current events, it acts on issues that are decisive for the prosperity of the city’s businesses. With the support of the Acclr experts, the CCMM’s goal is to accelerate the creation and growth of businesses of all sizes, at home and around the world.
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Source: Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal
Information: Caroline Des Rosiers, 514 880-2881, cdesrosiers@national.ca
Related link:
http://www.relançonsMTL.ca