Can biotechnology put patients’ needs ahead of profits?
These are challenging dilemmas for a government that gutted a suite of policies designed to cap excessive drug prices, and that ‘waxed lyrical’ about the importance of accelerating vaccine access worldwide, then failed to support an intellectual property waiver that would expand global production of COVID-19 vaccines.
Seizing the moment: building Canada’s academic leadership into a commercial powerhouse
Too much high-quality research is failing to make it out of laboratories to the benefit of patients and the Canadian economy.
New safety guidance sets up corporate self-regulation of GMOs
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency both recently updated their guidance on regulating genetically engineered foods and seeds.
Biotech sector is having a generational moment in Canada
It is not possible to predict what or when the next global health challenge will be, or what solutions will be needed.
Canada’s place in the world of biotechnology research and application is in jeopardy
Government of Canada funded scholarships and fellowships are the primary sources of income for many biotechnology researchers. To stem the brain-drain, Canada must significantly increase the value and number of graduate student scholarships and post-doctoral fellowships and to index them to the cost of living.
A national framework for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is long overdue
Research has shown the societal cost of FASD in Canada tops $10.5-billion annually. These costs are incurred through criminal justice, health care, educational services, social services, and lost productivity.
Canadians deserve a pandemic inquiry
Politicians, as well as many Canadians, want to put the pandemic behind them. But the pandemic is a crisis that affected all aspects of society, and its legacy continues to affect us.
‘Enormously complex’ file in store for new minister Saks, say addictions specialists, as calls grow for more funding to address ‘overdose crisis’
‘Until we start taking this seriously and we actually see some political will to do something about this, we’re going to continue to see it getting worse,’ says University of Calgary clinical assistant professor Robert Tanguay.
With Canadians frustrated by health-care system, new minister Holland brings ‘more punch’ to communications
Former health minister Jean-Yves Duclos’ relationship with the NDP had ‘soured,’ says one former NDP staffer, and Mark Holland’s relationships with that party will be a strength when it comes time to negotiate items like pharmacare and dental care as part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
Critics worry Canada’s approach to pandemic treaty marks continued gap between ‘rhetoric’ and ‘reality’ on vaccine equity
‘In situations where lives are at risk … humanity has to trump profit,’ says NDP MP Heather McPherson.
