Edmonton is home to one of the largest not-for-profit life science and health technology organizations in Canada. As a city that isn’t too boisterous about our initiatives, you wouldn’t necessarily know.
With Life Sciences Week on the horizon, we want to boast about some of the great scientific happenings that our city is home to!
Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API) has been operating since 2018 and driving the economic engine of our city’s life sciences sector. In that time they have created over $500M in spin off company valuation. No longer are they only active in the province of Alberta, but have also become a big player on the Canadian landscape. To highlight this, a list of groups API participates with can be found at the bottom of this post
For the last 5 years, API has been quietly developing strong partnerships across the life sciences sector as the need in Alberta gains momentum. This sector currently generates over $1 billion in yearly revenues and employs over 12,000 Albertans. API has recognized this need and can easily fulfill domestic and global demand for life sciences manufacturing.
In the last several years, API has been working toward the Canadian Critical Drug Initiative (CCDI). The CCDI is a large-scale project led by API and the University of Alberta’s Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute (LKSAVI). The CCDI will be an integrated research, development, and manufacturing cluster in south Edmonton that has the potential to secure the drug supply chain for Canada. The CCDI will expand manufacturing capacity for small molecule therapeutics and support development of new drugs, all under a new 40,000 sq ft manufacturing facility. The importance of this facility is exemplified by the fund commitment from provincial and federal governments, to the tune of at least $86M.
In addition to the funding committed by provincial and federal governments, the City of Edmonton also recently approved 2 plots of land to API for the development of the CCDI – expected to launch in 2026.
Life Sciences Week (Sep 25-29) is a series of events that highlight the importance, achievements, and diversity of Alberta’s life sciences sector. The kick-off luncheon on Monday is sure to be a hit, and we will be joined by the Honourable Minister Glubish for a fireside chat. Other events include The Alberta Clinical Research Consortium Conference, tours of life science and area facilities, the Health and Life Sciences Showcase and Awards Dinners, and wrap up celebrations on Friday afternoon.
The week is sure to be full of surprises, including significant announcements to be unveiled to further cement Edmonton’s position as a life sciences hub. Enjoy the activities of the week and stay tuned to this channel for a wrap up following the festivities. See you there
API is active in the following groups:
Edmonton’s Metro Region Economic Recovery Working Group
Government of Alberta’s Research Commercialization Working Group (RCWG)
The RCWG Action Plan and Play to Win Strategy
Alberta Technology & Innovation Strategy
Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Life Sciences Strategy Council
Government of Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy
