2018 Innovation Forum in Life Sciences and Healthcare: A high-caliber event

BCF, in collaboration with Deloitte and RBC, successfully hosted the Innovation Forum’s 2nd edition, which focused on life sciences and health care. The event brought together innovation dignitaries, key industry players and more than 70 guests selected for their expertise and involvement in the field, to discuss the event’s theme: Quebec’s life sciences and health care ecosystem’s sustainability.

In an opening lecture, Fabrice Brunet, President and CEO of the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), addressed innovation as a transformative factor in health systems and the role of university hospitals. Quebec's Minister of Innovation and Economy Pierre Fitzgibbon, shared a word on the important place of innovation in Quebec via a video message while the responsible for the economic development of the city of Montréal, Robert Beaudry, and the Innovation Director of the Quebec Ministry of Health & Social Services, Paul L'Archevêque, presented their vision for a strong and coherent ecosystem.

Handpicked conferences bringing together the biotech and medical technology community and its leaders, including Stuart Kozlick (Kinova), Didier Leconte (Fonds FTQ), Christelle Fasano (Montreal International), Martin Leblanc (Caprion Biosciences Inc.) Diane Côté (MEDTEQ), Shane Russell (Medtronic) and Michelle Laflamme (Emovi) discussed topical issues, such as:

• The importance of collaboration between the industry, universities, research and the health system, hospitals to accelerate the adoption of disruptive technologies in the medical field in Quebec;
• The consolidation of early-stage capital sources for life science companies and the influx of US investment in this niche;
• Mobilizing advanced capital to retain large companies in the life sciences sector in Canada;
• The city as a hub of innovation and R & D where leaders, researchers and foreign investments converge, notably due to the quality and availability of talent, its strategic location and its collaborative culture;
• Promoting the adoption of disruptive medical technologies by increasing the accessible financing;
• The use of artificial intelligence in the development of new medical technologies, in order to respond even more adequately to the unmet medical needs;
• Highlight the large databases available in the country and across the provinces to position Canada as a global player in the medtech sector.

The startups Imagia, Corbin Therapeutics, Targa Biomedical, Hop Child Technologies and Spinologics captivated the audience by presenting their innovative technology.

“BCF has once again demonstrated its leadership in the business community by showcasing Québec’s life sciences and health ecosystem. The resonance that this event has had within the network is extremely positive and I am confident that we will continue these inspiring discussions for our ecosystem!” said Annie Gauthier, a business and mergers and acquisitions partner at BCF, specializing in technology, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, and one of the organizers of the 2018 Forum.