BioAlliance Strategic Plan targets $1 billion in private sector revenue by 2030

Charlottetown, PE – The Prince Edward Island BioAlliance has announced the launch of their 2021-25 Strategic Plan, that will guide the work and planning needed to achieve the PEI Cluster’s vision to be a leading force in Canada’s bio-revolution. Development of the Strategic Plan was led by the BioAlliance Board of Directors and informed by broad consultation with other industry, research, and government partners.

The PEI bioscience cluster is growing at a rate that outpaces any other industry in the province. Now with 60 companies, seven research organizations, and employing 2,200 highly skilled individuals, the PEI BioAlliance has created an innovation ecosystem that has doubled its economic impact since 2016. In 2019, private sector companies earned over $260 million in revenue, attracted $38 million in new investment, and spent more than $100 million on new equipment and facilities.

BioAlliance goals for 2021-25 are to aggressively increase private sector revenue, employment, investment attraction, capital expenditures as well as spending on research and development. Oliver Technow, Board Chair of the BioAlliance, said that the vision of the Board is for cluster companies to achieve $500 million in revenue by 2025 and $1 billion by 2030.

“We see no reason why we can’t continue to double the economic impact of our bio sector every five years,” said Technow. “The global market opportunities that our businesses see in specific areas of human health, animal and fish health, and diagnostics are really incredible. Through our BioAlliance partnership with governments, academic and research organizations, together we are putting the talent pipeline and physical infrastructure in place to support business and investment growth and attraction.”

This sector strategy aligns with the commitments to opportunity building and economic growth outlined by the Partnership for Growth Action Plan. The sector has received solid support from both the Government of Canada and the Government of Prince Edward Island.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on the vital role biotech research, development, and manufacturing plays in our society and in countries and communities around the world,” said Sean Casey, Member of Parliament for Charlottetown, on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for ACOA. “The Government of Canada, through continued collaboration and support, is committed to strengthening this important sector, and empowering an ecosystem to ensure Canadians’ health and economic wellbeing. This 2021-2025 strategic plan reinforces PEI’s position as a biotech leader in this country.”

“Our bioscience sector has been a true success story here in Prince Edward Island and in the Atlantic region over the past 15 years,” said Premier Dennis King. “Throughout the pandemic, the sector was resilient and actually experienced growth in our province at a time when there was a lot of uncertainty. The Government of Prince Edward Island is excited to work within the BioAlliance’s cluster model in the years ahead to implement this exciting plan and continue to grow the sector into the future.”

One of the key imperatives of the Strategic Plan is to establish the PEI cluster as a national biomanufacturing centre of excellence. Over the past several years, BioAlliance public and private sector partners have made a series of strategic investments valued at over $200 million to take a leadership position in providing bioprocessing infrastructure, expertise, and services to Canadian and international businesses. These initiatives have included major investments in bioprocessing equipment and infrastructure, including construction of the first Bioscience Manufacturing Incubator in the region, expansion of manufacturing facilities and expertise, establishment of the Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences (CASTL) and the expansion of Emergence, Atlantic Canada’s Bioscience Business Incubator.

Technow, who is also CEO of BIOVECTRA, suggested that since COVID-19, Canada and the world are re-awakening to the importance of having the knowhow and infrastructure to be more self-reliant in manufacturing vital drugs and vaccines to protect population health.

“Governments, academic researchers, and private sector partners must work together to ensure all the elements are in place for success. PEI has done an excellent job of implementing an ecosystem approach that has created significant competitive advantage for research and manufacturing businesses, and facilitated a ‘can do’ culture,” said Technow.

For more information on the PEI BioAlliance and the Strategic Plan 2021-25, visit peibioalliance.com/strategicplan.

Media Contact
Clara Deacon
Director of Communications and Marketing
PEI BioAlliance
C: 403.701.2815
E: clara@peibioalliance.com