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The agrifood biotech cluster - Canada

Saskatoon's technology cluster is one of the bigger agricultural and food biotechnology clusters in the world. It has more than 20 years of history within the province of Saskatchewan, with a reputation for introducing "world firsts" into the market establishing itself as Canada's centre for plant and animal genome science.

Leveraging recent trends in genomics science and research and capitalizing on federal investment initiatives, the region is actively involved in several projects in animal and plant genomics, which have the potential to develop into various value-added products. Saskatoon's AgriFood Biotech cluster is comprised of a number of actors and institutions, including the Innovation Place research park, that operate within the context of a dynamic, interactive knowledge network.

Innovation Place

At the heart of this advanced technology cluster is Innovation Place that was officially launched in 1981. Innovation Place's unique environment, located in close proximity to the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) and the National Research Council's Plant Biotechnology Institute (NRC-PBI), serves to strengthen collaborative initiatives among its 115 tenants. Knowledge generation capacity and service exchange is enhanced through a dense network of actors, elevating productivity and financial success within the region. The park is supported by government initiatives and driven by public policy mandates for enhanced job creation in advanced technology sectors. The goal for the park is to operate profitably and, thus, it has adopted a commercial corporate structure as its business model. The park has over one million square feet of combined office, lab and greenhouse space including 43 separate greenhouse compartments and associated growth chambers and service and header houses. Over 2000 employees currently work within the boundaries of this world-renowned science and research park. Innovation Place provides an attractive working environment to attract a range of tenants that cooperate and compete within the context of the regional economy. Its longstanding history and continued success has transformed it into an international symbol of the Saskatoon's advanced technology community.

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

The Cluster's Research Infrastructure

Innovation Place leverages the strength of the life science research infrastructure clustered in and around the U of S. Four national centres of research excellence are located within the region including the University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture, Saskatoon Research Centre and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), Agriculture and AgriFood Canada (AAFC) and, of course, NRC-PBI.

The cluster's strong infrastructure continues to grow. The NRC-PBI has recently developed a new industry partnership incubator facility (NRC-PBI Industry Partnership Wing). This $15.4 million addition to the existing PBI infrastructure is expected to be operating at full capacity by spring 2003 and will provide support and technical services to its tenants.

The recently renovated and expanded Agriculture and AgriFood Canada (AAFC) Research Centre opened officially in June of 1998. This $38 million project is comprised of a retrofit of the original building, the addition of the Scientific Support Wing, new greenhouse and headerhouse space, and the construction of facilities for AAFC's Plant Gene Resources of Canada (PGRC). An important part of the Research Centre, the PGRC serves to document and distribute a collection of diverse germplasm. Its collection is currently comprised of 98,000 accessions including world-based collections of barley and oats.

Canada's province Saskatchewan

Other related agricultural biotechnology research centres within the region include the Crop Development Centre (CDC), the Animal Biotech Centre, the Feed Resource Centre, the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), Veterinary Vaccines Centre (VIDO), the Prairie Swine Centre and the Beef Development Centre. Supporting this dense research infrastructure are the cluster's level three containment facilities, the transgenic plant field sites located in close proximity to Innovation Place and the U of S plus a full range of support services. The Innovation Place Bio Processing Centre - an aqueous alcohol extraction facility - is a contract confidential fee-for-service facility that specializes in pre-commercial, post-pilot plant production volumes. The Innovation Place Lab Support Facility consists of 170,000 square feet of multi-tenant office and laboratory space, which has proven especially suited to the agriculture and pharma industries.

A highlight of the region is the Canadian Light Source (CLS) synchrotron project. Construction was launched in 1999 and the facility will prove to be a critical tool for Canadian science and innovation once it is operational in early 2004. Endorsed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and with a value exceeding $173 million, CLS is funded through a variety of organizations including contributions from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the Government of Saskatchewan and the City of Saskatoon. CLS Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the U of S, will carry out facility operations. CLS expects to attract more than 2000 scientists and specialised personnel annually from all over the world once it is operational.

Saskatoon - A Great Place to Invest! A Great Place to Live!

Innovation Place is a world class location for life sciences business investment given its infrastructure and innovative environment and its relatively low costs associated with conducting business (40% less than the US mid-west). As an example, a small research company with three scientists and three support staff, and office, lab and greenhouse space can operate on less than $250 million per year after tax rebates. Innovation Place has a full line of support services from lab, to bench to market with strong government support for initiatives in biotechnology and advanced technologies. More than $700 million has been invested in the region's infrastructure over the past ten years. A Federal Matching Industry Initiative Fund and the Saskatchewan Agriculture Development Fund also support growth and development within the region. Federal tax credits of up to 35% of research and development costs as well as the Saskatchewan R&D tax credit of 15% also encourage investment. Additionally, there are various local venture capital funds available.

Saskatoon - A Centre for Animal and Plant Genomics Excellence

In 2000, the Federal Government invested $160 million into Genome Canada (GC) for the purpose of developing genome centres across Canada. Saskatoon's agricultural biotechnology community welcomed this news and embraced the opportunity of establishing an agricultural genomics centre within the region. Such an initiative would partner government, university and industry institutions. Subsequently, GC has made a number of local investments in animal and plant genomic research projects including College of Agriculture's Functional Genomics of Abiotic Stress in Wheat and Canola Crops ($19.5 million) and VIDO's Animal Mucosal Vaccine Development project ($26.9 million). Additionally, there are several other projects currently underway: The Department of Plant and Animal Science's (U of S) Bovine Genomics project as well as joint and separate initiatives in Genomics and Brassica Genomics at AAFC and NRC-PBI.

Innovation Place and Saskatoon's AgriFood Biotech cluster provide an innovative environment for social and economic growth and, as a result, the region is attracting both international expertise and investment. For instance, Dr. Bill Tomlinson, a renowned expert in synchrotron medical imaging, recently accepted a five-year appointment by the CLSI board to act as Executive Director for the CLS. Recent investments by Genome Canada have also spurred the establishment of Pyxis Genomics Canada Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pyxis Genomics Inc. (Chicago, IL).

Saskatoon's AgriFood Biotech cluster is expanding upon its history and reputation as a world-class centre for canola research and development. By leveraging its dense knowledge network and its research expertise, this cluster is rapidly evolving into a world-class centre for animal and plant genomics. Innovation Place in Saskatoon is a shining example of the power of technology clusters to boost economic development in a region. Every year visitors from around the world come to learn how we did it.

This article was previously published in the PBI Bulletin and submitted by TCI member Camille Ryan.
The Paper was written by:
Peter McCann - President, AgWest Biotech Inc. peter.mccann @ agwest.sk.ca
Cami Ryan - PhD. Candidate, University of Saskatchewan cami.ryan @ usask.ca