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reports and analyses of the forces driving science and technology investment in Canada
editor: Mark Henderson How it looks to me.... by Mark Henderson FEATURE REPORTS | RESEARCH BRIEFS | PERSONALITIES How it looks to me.... by Mark Henderson, editor, RE$EARCH MONEY Cash strapped university administrators need not feel guilty for experiencing a warm, fuzzy feeling when they break for the holidays. As 1997 draws to a close, most signs point to a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of Canada's research-intensive institutions. Competition details for the Canada Foundation (CFI) are now public, the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program is considering another three entrants, and the government is making serious, encouraging noises about boosting the funding levels of the three granting councils. How the above three initiatives interact is crucial if Canada is to reap maximum benefit from its scientists. While the NCE program encourages targeted basic research, the CFI is designed to give researchers the means to attain or retain world class status. And the fates of both hinge on adequate funding of for basic research -- the engine of growth in the research community and Canada's most important strategic sectors. After years of neglect, a reversal of plummeting funding levels is long overdue. And the sense of urgency has been amplified by the CFI. Politicians seem to recognize the problem and have accepted the inevitable. Yet the proof of the pudding will be when the money starts to flow. Only then can Canada's academic research community fully assume its rightful place as the starting point of innovation.
FEATURE REPORTS...
RESEARCH BRIEFS
Guelph food science research facility gets $2.3-million makeover The Univ of Guelph's 77-year-old food science teaching and research building is getting a $2.6-million overhaul, courtesy of the Canada/Ontario Infrastructure Works program. The upgrade includes new voice and data communications systems, laboratory space and analytical equipment and is designed to boost the university's efforts to maintain its leadership as an agri-food technology and research centre....
VGI contributes gene sequencing expertise to joint project Toronto-based Visible Genetics Inc (VGI) has entered a collaborative research agreement with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to develop sequence-based diagnostics for insect and fungal pests. Funded under the Matching Investment Initiative Program, the research will be conducted largely within the AAFC's eastern cereal and oilseed research centre in Ottawa. VGI will contribute its OpenGene DNA sequencing technology, operating supplies, and software and technical support with the aim of developing targeted natural insecticides using sexually neutered species-specific insects. Those insects will then be introduced back into greenhouse environments, eliminating the targeted populations....
NCE program receives 74 responses to call for new Networks The Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) has received 74 letters of intent (LOIs) for its upcoming competition for up to three new Networks. The competition budget is pegged at approximately $9 million. LOIs meeting the basic program requirements will be peer reviewed, and a smaller number will be asked to submit a full proposal by April 1/98. The complete list of hopefuls can be viewed on the NCE website at: www.nce.gc.ca/news/nceloi.htm....
RBCC and InNOVAcorp to offer venture loans to Nova Scotia firms The Royal Bank Capital Corp (RBCC) has teamed with Nova Scotia's provincial research organization -- InNOVAcorp -- to launch a $3-million fund to provide funding and management expertise to small-to-medium-sized enterprises. The program offers venture capital funding of between $25,000 and $750,000 to firms in the life sciences and advanced materials sectors. InNOVAcorp is contributing $1 million and is responsible for scouting for suitable investment opportunities. RBCC is providing $2 million and management expertise. Eligible life science firms will be active in biotechnology, medical devices, health related IT applications and medical services and research commercialization. Advanced materials include metals, super alloys, composites, ceramics, coatings, polymers/ plastics, biomaterials and superconductivity....
Siemens-Newbridge alliance buys Israeli developer of ATM switches The alliance between Newbridge Networks Corp and the public communications networks group of Siemens AG, Munich, have acquired Israeli-based RADNet Ltd, a developer and manufacturer of access switches for ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) networks. The US $75-million purchase gives the alliance important capability in switches as well as access to Israeli R&D and human resources expertise. Siemens will control 50.1% of RADNet, with Newbridge holding 49.9%. With 65 employees, RADNet was founded in 1994 as a division of the Tel Aviv-based RAD Group. The firm produces ATM switches for carriers and service providers. RADNet's inclusion boosts the Siemens-Newbridge R&D team to more than 2,000; the largest in the industry....
TPC invests in distance education and aerospace projects Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC) has made two more small investments. Starvision Multimedia Corp has received $1.1 million for a project to develop its StarED distance education product using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networking technology. The Burnaby BC-based affiliate of Newbridge Networks Corp has developed a suite of ATM-based collaborative multimedia products, and the StarED project is expected to create 65 new jobs. TPC has also invested in $1.1 million in a project by Canadian Marconi Co (CMC). The funds will allow CMC to develop a control display unit for the US Army's UH60 Black Hawk, a medical evacuation helicopter.The project is expected to create 20 jobs and generate $47 million in export sales....
PERSONALITIES
Eli Lilly Canada and the National Cancer Institute have announced the three winners of their 1997 cancer research awards. The Robert Noble prize goes to Dr Alan Bernstein, director Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute and a Univ of Toronto professor of molecular and medical genetics, medical biophysics and medicine. Lunenfeld is selected for his work in defining the molecular/genetic basis of cancer. The Harold Warwick prize was awarded to Dr Norman Boyd, head of epidemiology and statistics at the Ontario Cancer Institute and Univ of Toronto professor of medicine, for his leadership in preventive oncology, in particular work in identifying breast density as a risk factor for cancer. Dr Jerry Pelletier was awarded the William Rawls prize for identifying and characterizing key genes linked to Wilms tumor, a type of childhood kidney cancer. Pelletier is an associate professor of biochemistry and oncology at McGill Univ....
Biovail has made changes to its executive ranks in charge of financial management. Bob Podruzny has been appointed to president and COO, moving up from VP finance and CFO. Kenneth Howling has joined Biovail to assume the positions vacated by Podruzny. Rolf Reininghaus has been appointed president of Crystaal Corp, Biovail's Canadian sales and marketing subsidiary....
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