Success Stories

Read about world-class life sciences partnerships taking place in Alberta:


Life Science High Performers Pick Alberta

Examples of collaborative research with Alberta companies and universities:

Agilent Technologies and the University of Alberta
Electrokinetic effects on ink jetted droplets supporting DNA microarray manufacture.

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the University of Alberta
Development of new drugs for neurophysiology and respiratory physiology failure.

Wellstat Therapeutics™ Corporation and the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Carbohydrate Sciences (AICCS)
Collaborative approaches to commercializing vaccines for tuberculosis and invasive aspergillosis.

The Alberta Transplant Institute Applied Genomics Centre (Roche Molecular Systems & Hoffman La-Roche Canada)
Developing tools for diagnosis, monitoring, clinical trials and drugs for all types of organ transplants. 

AstraZeneca Canada Inc. and NAEJA Pharmaceutical Inc.
Partners working together to identify potential pain management drugs.

Gilead Sciences Inc. Acquires Degussa’s Raylo Chemicals Inc.
Custom manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients and advanced intermediates for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries.

Astellas Pharma Inc. and the University of Alberta
Japan and US based Astellas Pharma Inc., partnered with the University of Alberta on a project using the latest in high-tech gene chip research.

Health Science Success Stories

BioMS Medical Corp. was honoured with the 2008 Gold Leaf Award, Canada’s premier biotech distinction. The Gold Leaf Award honours companies that have demonstrated leadership, innovation, and financial success.

Eli Lilly Canada Inc. (Indianapolis, Indiana) and BioMS Medical Corp. (Edmonton) entered into a $500 million licensing and development agreement, granting Lilly exclusive worldwide rights to BioMS Medical’s leading Multiple Sclerosis compound. 

Alberta’s National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) is Canada’s quietest research space.  NINT is one of the world's most technologically advanced research facilities and includes laboratory space that has ultra low vibration, minimal acoustical noise, and electro-magnetic interference, creating the highly stable environment necessary when using specialized instruments.

The Alberta government’s research and development expenditures are among the highest, on a per-capita basis, in Canada.

The University of Alberta and the University of Calgary are ranked 4th and 7th, respectively, in annual sponsored research funding at Canadian universities. Both institutions are globally recognized for high quality research.

Heptovir, a leading Hepatitis B treatment, was developed at the University of Alberta by Dr. Lorne Tyrrell and Dr. Morris Robbins. Heptovir has been licensed for sale in 120 countries since 1998.

Dr. Robert Burrell, at the University of Alberta, has developed one of the world’s first commercial medical applications of nanotechnology.  Bandages coated with silver nano particles have anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties that help to speed healing, and save the lives and limbs of patients around the world.

Ceapro Inc. have developed a graham flavoured wafer that provides an accurate, sensitive, and consistent way to help identify the onset of adult diabetes.  

An Edmonton research team made medical history in May 2000, when it announced the first successful islet cell transplantations on patients with type one diabetes. The procedure, known as “The Edmonton Protocol,” can drastically reduce a patient’s need for daily insulin injections.  

In 2008, Dr. Samuel Weiss, University of Calgary scientist, won a prestigious Gairdner International Award. One in four Gairdner awardees have gone on to win a Nobel Prize (Read more).

Drs. Richard Wozniak, Richard Rachubinski and Michele Barry, all University of Alberta researchers, are recent recipients of Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Research Scholarships.

The University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine and the Calgary Health Region aim to revolutionize neurosurgery.  Dr. Garnette Sutherland and his team spent six years, in cooperation with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA), designing the world’s first MRI-compatible surgical robot, enhances accuracy and safety of brain surgery. “NeuroArm”, will revolutionize neurosurgery and other branched of operative medicine.

Agricultural and Bioindustrial Success Stories

Minneapolis-based Otoka Energy Inc., announced the development of a biorefinery in Drayton Valley, Alberta starting in 2009. The biofuel plant will turn forestry waste into renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas.

Manure is being turned into usable energy in Alberta. A new pilot plant at an Alberta feedlot is transforming manure into renewable energy and fertilizers, while reducing greenhouse gases. 

Sanimax, Syngenta, Novozymes and Genencor invested into Biorefining Conversion Network at University of Alberta to find new ways to turn waste into value added products such as bioenergy and biochemicals. 

A University of Calgary spin-off biotech company, SemBioSys Genetics Inc., has made an exciting breakthrough that could offer a far less expensive supply of life-saving insulin – safflower plants.