Canada's Capacity in Bioinformatics: Canada's Competencies

Canada's Competencies

Overview of Research Activities

As biotechnology research continues to gain new ground, areas of bioinformatics will have to keep up to new and expanding demands.

According to Statistics Canada, sales of Canadian biotechnology products and services exceeded $1 billion Canadian in 1997. The health care field had the highest revenues, followed by the agriculture–food sector. These revenues are expected to grow over the next 5 years based on the strong focus on R&D. The Canadian biotechnology industry invested approximately $600 million in R&D in 1997, with almost 90 percent devoted to health care sector.

The Canadian Biotechnology ' 98, Success from Excellence report states that, in terms of geographical concentration, Quebec has the highest number of biotechnology firms, followed by Ontario and British Columbia. In terms of the number of research institutions and companies identified involving in bioinformatics, 39 percent are located in Ontario (Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton and Kingston), 29 percent are in Quebec (Montreal and Laval) and approximately 9 percent each are in British Columbia (Vancouver), Alberta (Edmonton) and Nova Scotia (Halifax).

From the analysis of the surveys, firms involved in the bioinformatics research activities are usually involved in all areas of bioinformatics. As mentioned previously, these areas are: molecular sequence analysis and data mining, comparative genomics, functional genomics, and bioinformatics software development.

More specifically, research–involving bioinformatics in Canada is being used for:

• Protein folding, protein stability and macromolecular assembly – helps to solve the problem of inability to predict the three–dimensional fold or structure of a protein (bioinfo.mshri.on.ca/hogue);
• Structure–based drug design using three–dimensional structures of ligands and receptors to design and test new drug leads. A significant number of diseases are caused by imbalances in proteins. By knowing if the specific protein is absent, defective, or present in small amounts, this can lead to new and improved therapeutics, passive and active vaccines, diagnostic, industrial, environmental and agricultural products (www.pence.ca/pence/english/ops_17);
• Discovery of new antimicrobial agents to fight the growing number of common human pathogens that are resisting all of the current antimicrobial agents;
• Devising and implementing computational solutions for biological research to the development of applications to enable biotechnology companies to amplify the number and quality of their drug advancement opportunities (www.molecularmining.com/t1);
• Understanding the complex biochemical circuitry that defines normal and disease process and investigating the domains of proteins, cell signaling and regulation of the cell cycle (www.lunenfeld.ca/).

Survey results showed that most of the institutions and companies involved with bioinformatics develop their own software for their personal needs. However, five players have been identified who are involved in developing only bioinformatics software.

Three are from the industry sector. They are:

• 'Biotools,' Edmonton, Alta.
• 'Molecular Mining,' Ottawa, Ont.
• 'Base4,' Toronto, Ont.

In terms of strategic alliances and partnerships, 89 percent of those interviewed had an alliance of some capacity with universities and/or business. Further, 45 percent had established relationships with both universities and companies. Biotechnology companies that are in alliance are usually involved with companies in the U.S. As mentioned by one of the respondents, these alliances with the U.S. companies allow Canadian companies to have access to larger databases.

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Canada's Weaknesses

The survey results identified areas in which Canada's capacity in bioinformatics is inadequate. By sector, these weaknesses are as follows:

Research Community

There are only a few programs specialized in bioinformatics to develop highly skilled professionals. In particular, there is an absence of bioinformatics programs at the undergraduate level. Although there are programs available at the masters and doctoral levels, very few professors are experts in bioinformatics in Canada, and most do not have the resources to take on many students. Our research showed that respondents would like to take on more students, but that they do not have the funding or lab equipment to do so. Some mentioned that they have lost skilled students to new fields or to the U.S. job market as a result of inadequate funds.

Most of the courses offered in bioinformatics are "presented in the context of preparations for different careers other than bioinformatics – either training in evolutionary biology or structural biology" (Enabling Canadian Biotechnology Capabilities, 1998). These courses do not specifically cover the required topics of bioinformatics and, therefore, graduates from these programs will not possess the specific skills required to meet the industry's needs. However, programs are being developed, led by the following universities:

• University of Alberta
• University of Ottawa
• University of Montreal
• University of New Brunswick
• Queen's University
• University of Waterloo

As mentioned by the respondents, some of these universities are ready to proceed with their specialized programs. However, a few are having trouble getting started because they cannot afford the skilled people required to run the programs.

Industry

Throughout Canada, very few firms are taking the initiative to include bioinformatics as part of their business. Only 16 biotechnology firms identified are involved with bioinformatics, most small (1–50 employees) or medium (51–150 employees) in size. The majority of the large biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms involved in bioinformatics conduct their work in the U.S., where most of the industry R&D is carried out.

Biotechnology start–up companies are having difficulty finding government and venture funds to begin their bioinformatics operation. However, survey results also showed that some feel it is slowly getting easier to obtain venture funds.

The major weakness voiced by every survey respondent was the lack of available skilled professionals (a combined biology and computer science background) in bioinformatics to fill their positions. This finding was supported by the Canadian Bioinformatics Taskforce in the NCE proposal Enabling Canadian Bioinformatics Capabilities, 1998. Most companies interviewed said they are planning to expand their staff, but expressed concern that they will not be able to find or recruit qualified professionals. Most believe that this is due to a lack of academic and training programs. Moreover, some companies are having difficulties retaining their current staff, who are being lured elsewhere by higher salaries.

Government

Respondents from both the industry and the research community voiced strongly that there is not enough support for bioinformatics. When asked if they knew of any current government or other programs that provide assistance, approximately 40 percent said "No." Most conveyed that their grant applications have been refused and believe that the research granting councils do not see bioinformatics as a vital discipline. Many feel that the research granting councils are not reliable as a source of financing for bioinformatics.

Networking

There is a lack of communication and collaboration amongst all parties. Some respondents mentioned that they are unaware of current research activities other than their own. They feel there is a possibility of overlapping of work. They feel it is crucial for a network to be developed, as no network exists to provide an environment for communication and collaboration amongst all stakeholders. The NCE application was developed to address this gap but it was not successful. The Canadian Bioinformatics Resource within the National Research Council (NRC) provides some type of network with its database, but respondents find it difficult to access.

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Canada's Strengths

Although these sectors have significant weaknesses, primary research shows that they do also possess strong points. These strengths, by sector, are as follows:

Research Community

Although only a few major players are leading the development of bioinformatics in

Canada, they are also considered to be amongst the best worldwide. These individuals are highly motivated to make Canada successful in bioinformatics. They are carrying out complementary projects and good communication exists among them.

The research community is set to address the need for trained skilled professionals. The Canadian Bioinformatics Workshops, a program launched by the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network (CGDN) in collaboration with Biotechnology Human Resource Council, (BHRC), is valued by the industry and research sectors. These workshops provide participants with practical experience and skills related to bioinformatics. Also, several universities are developing undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral programs.

When asked if current programs are competitive relative to other programs offered around the world, 58 percent of respondents from the research community segment believed they were.

Industry

As is often the case in rapidly evolving fields, the industry sector is less advanced than the research community. The few biotech firms involved in the field were found to be very supportive of developing adequate capacity in Canada and very innovative in exploiting bioinformatics. As well, organizations such as the Ottawa Life Sciences Council are working towards establishing regions and core competencies in this area by building on the strength and numbers of information technology companies located in or near the respective regions.

Government

Although the Canadian Bioinformatics Resource database needs improvement, respondents still see the network as a good initial approach towards building a global infrastructure that will give the industry and research community access to information from all around the world. The government's $160 million–investment into Genome Canada (to set up 5 genome centres across Canada), is also seen as a significant contribution to strengthening Canada's capacity in bioinformatics since these centres will include bioinformatics.

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Opportunity/Threats

In Canada, a few strong leaders are determined to bring the country's capacity in bioinformatics to the global forefront. However, there are certain barriers impeding the full development of a solid infrastructure. From the survey analysis, the threats are as follows:

Key players may leave Canada

Many professionals are being offered higher paying positions in other countries. A couple of respondents mentioned that they will be leaving soon to work in the U.S. where they receive more support.

Not enough skilled professionals to fill positions

Companies and research institutions are having difficulty finding skilled individuals. Some respondents mentioned the threat of brain drain and how they are losing their skilled professionals to the U.S. This phenomenon is not specific to biotechnology. The high tech industry is also threatened by the loss of talent to the U.S.

Biotech companies are establishing their bioinformatics operations in the U.S.

Respondents mentioned that it is easier for a biotechnology company to get financial or venture funds to start its bioinformatics operation in the U.S. Although this situation is slowly changing, as mentioned previously, it is still a threat. One respondent mentioned that he knew of a start–up biotech company that moved to the U.S. because it was having difficulties finding funds in Canada. Today, the company is operating successfully in the U.S.

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