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Biotechnology: A Natural

Just as one can find in Montreal all the parts required for assembling an aircraft, one can also realize all the steps in the production of a new drug, from basic research to marketing. The Quebec biotechnology industry can count on a strong clinical research sector, as well as renowned research centers and the strong presence of the pharmaceutical industry, employing 15,000 people. Biopharmaceutical companies have invested more than $1.3 million in the Montreal region since 1990. Montreal's Biotechnology Research Institute (BRI at www.bri.nrc.ca) has been a key factor in the development of the biotechnology industry in Quebec.

World-class Products Telecommunications and aerospace have overtaken lumber and paper as main export products from Quebec. CAE Electronics designs and manufactures over 70 percent of the world's commercial flight simulators, while Messier-Dowty and Héroux capture 60 percent of the world market for landing gear.

BRI occupies a sprawling 250,000-sq.-ft. (23,226-sq.-m.) campus in what may become a biotech park. An immediate neighbor is DSM Biologics, which completes the offer with its CGMP facilities. BRI has created a veritable community, working closely with pharmaceutical companies and universities. "Our people come from 27 countries," notes Marie-Odile Martin, BRI marketing manager. Work is carried out according to three formulas: contracts, licensing and collaborative research, where partners share in the risk and the cost. "We have a decided advantage in that we can form multidisciplinary teams," adds Martin.

Quebec on the Net One of the best places to find Quebec on the Net is the Invest Quebec Web site (www.invest-quebec.com). It acts as a virtual display of Quebec's economy, with information on all economic sectors and links to major companies in each of these sectors. Foreign investors will also find a wealth of information on incentive programs, taxation and comparative costs.

Its facilities attract a host of companies who not only benefit from the equipment and services offered but also by the invaluable networking that takes place within its walls. Companies from the United States, France, China and Holland are among its tenants. BRI is breaking ground in environmental biotech and is a founding member of the Montreal Center of Excellence in Brownfields Rehabilitation, a research consortium that studies abandoned urban land contaminated by industry, a major problem in North American cities. A demonstration platform is set to open this fall along the Lachine Canal, and an environmental pilot plant was recently inaugurated to speed up the work.

Another biotech cluster has developed in Laval's Science and High Technology Park, around the Armand Frappier Institute, where one can also find the Biotechnology Innovation Center, its business incubator and Technoval, a $40.3 million project consisting of four buildings totaling 350,000 sq. ft. (32,516 sq. m.). There are 66 biotech companies in Laval,
employing 2,250 people.