A natural fit – discovering life sciences opportunities at the BIO International Conference
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Over the last year Nova Scotia, Canada has gone through a transformative change as a destination of choice for companies and workers in the life sciences, medical technology and healthcare innovation industries.
Recent announcements including Nova Scotia Health launching the first-in-Canada technology that brings together oncology information in real time and the expansion of virtual care across the province have cemented our province as a committed and innovative life sciences leader.
Building on this time of growth, the Invest Scotia team and partners recently attended the BIO International conference to showcase our province to an international audience, make connections, and continue to discover new ways to stay competitive in an ever-evolving industry.
Three key trends emerged from this time of events, b2b meetings, panels, receptions, exhibitors and networking opportunities.
1. Value-based healthcare. A delivery model focusing on evidence-based improvements to patient health, value-based healthcare measures the value of health outcomes against the cost of delivery. This contrasts with a fee-for-service model, where providers are measured for the volume of services they deliver. For Nova Scotia companies selling healthcare solutions, this model necessitates better outcomes, measurements tools, data collection, and utilization. It is closely linked to a growing interest in digital health tools, access to health data, system interoperability, and AI-enabled health systems.
2. A link between advanced data technologies and health R&D. This trend is important to enabling precision/personalized medicine, companion diagnostics, genomics, and rare diseases research. Advances in technology heighten our ability to tailor individual treatments, accelerate diagnosis of difficult-to-assess diseases, and efficiently perform research into niche areas that would not have been diagnosed in the past. Nova Scotia’s strong background in big data and AI technologies is increasingly relevant to how attractive the ecosystem is for life sciences investment. Recent announcements, such as the new funding for healthcare care data analytics training programs at St Mary’s University, are reinforcing the strengths in the crossover between life sciences and tech.
3. Rural and remote care. Innovations in delivery and access are increasingly being enabled by technology. The recently announced $37.4 million investment into Saint Francis Xavier University for a new rural-health focused research institute, as well as Nova Scotia Health’s increased capacity for decentralized clinical trials, are ways in which Nova Scotia can potentially align with industry interest.
These key learnings and opportunities to create new partnerships help Nova Scotia stand out as a jurisdiction of choice. As a smaller location, we can be agile. This includes providing access to a well-connected, collaborative ecosystem giving industry the ability to test, try, and de-risk innovation quickly.
Want to talk about your life sciences company's growth plans? From introductions to site visits and a competitive analysis, we can curate a plan to suit your business needs. Get in touch today and follow our LinkedIn page for further updates and opportunities.