Centre Block Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
The Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program has been on my mind lately. Yes it’s true, although it may seem odd to admit. The Government of Canada’s innovative program, launched in 1989, was intended to “mobilize Canada’s best research, development and entrepreneurial talent, and focus it on specific issues and strategic areas.” Canada is fortunate that the NCE funded the Stem Cell Network, C3i, CellCAN, BioCanRx and CCRM – plus groups like TIAP (formerly MaRS Innovation) and IRICoR – to move the needle forward in the field of regenerative medicine by building Canadian capabilities in this area.
At this time, 18 networks and centres of excellence remain funded, including BioCanRx and IRICoR, and their fate remains uncertain after their NCE funding ends in 2024 and 2025.
In 2024, NCE funding will move to the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF). Beginning this year, NFRF will have an annual budget of $124 million. I blogged about this new program when it was first announced in 2018.
NFRF funds “interdisciplinary, high-risk/high-reward, transformative research led by Canadian researchers working with Canadian and international partners.” Similar to the NCE, the NFRF receives its funding from Canada’s three federal granting agencies, collectively known as the tri-agencies. NFRF’s mission is to enhance Canada’s competitiveness and expertise in the global, knowledge-based economy – not so different from the NCE’s purpose, but with more emphasis on international collaborations. Unlike the NCE, it does not receive funding from Innovation Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada.
Despite criticism of the NCE for providing finite funding regardless of how successful a network or centre of excellence is, the groups I mentioned above, which play in the regenerative medicine sandbox, have become self-sustaining, as follows:
- The Stem Cell Network has been wildly successful at obtaining federal funding to continue its grants program, knowledge mobilization and training efforts.
- CellCAN has turned its training expertise into a new venture in the Canadian Advanced Therapies Training Institute (CATTI), a partnership with CCRM to provide complete advanced therapies biomanufacturing training to those seeking to upskill their credentials.
- C3i (Centre for Commercialisation of Cancer Immunotherapy) operates a contract development and manufacturing organization, and offers biomarker and diagnostic services, clinical research, CRO services and investment support.
- TIAP (Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners) specializes in venture building of early-stage health science technologies emerging from its 10 Toronto member institutions. Since its launch in 2009, TIAP has created and invested in over 70 companies.
- CCRM’s funding expired in March 2023 and it’s on track for continued sustainability through fee-for-service for process and analytical development, and Good Manufacturing Practices-compliant manufacturing; technology and venture development; investing in companies; and training.
ISED, mentioned above, has its own program for supporting innovative and transformative projects in Canada. Called the Strategic Innovation Fund, or SIF, it provides investments across all sectors of the economy to encourage businesses to invest in research and development (R&D) activities that lead to technology transfer and commercialization of new products, processes and services. SIF encourages collaboration between the private sector, research institutions and non-profit organizations. Since its launch in 2017, SIF has committed $6.9 billion towards project costs totalling $62.6 billion. Companies funded in the Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences sector are helping to advance the regenerative medicine field. But not everyone is a fan.
Another program supported by ISED is the Global Innovation Clusters. In February the Government of Canada announced just over $700 million to be spread across five areas, with $177 million awarded to the Advanced Manufacturing Cluster to support the commercialization of projects that develop, scale up and apply advanced technology solutions in manufacturing. CCRM and its subsidiary OmniaBio have been part of projects (CCRM’s, OmniaBio’s) that have received funding from Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the industry-led, not-for-profit that leads the Advanced Manufacturing Cluster. The Government of Canada has so far invested $2 billion in the “super clusters.”
While these efforts at funding innovation and commercialization in Canada get mixed reviews, I would argue that the regenerative medicine community is stronger from the federal injections of funding. I think there is agreement that our academic community has garnered international recognition and acclaim for its discoveries and the Stem Cell Network shares in that credit. CCRM has been lauded for its progress in building biomanufacturing infrastructure in Canada to support national and international cell and gene therapy developers. While it’s easy to criticize government programs, at least in the regenerative medicine field we have seen tangible benefits.
Stacey Johnson
Latest posts by Stacey Johnson (see all)
- Right Turn: #pinksocks, diabetes news and other ramblings - June 24, 2025
- Right Turn: Some takeaways from Advanced Therapies Week 2025 - January 31, 2025
- Right Turn: The top 10 most-read blog posts in 2024 - January 2, 2025
Comments