He took the helm at the height of tragedy. How Danone Canada's president is working to rebuild trust
The native of Nice, France, spent a year and a half in Canada in 1997-98 as part of a government-sponsored work program, serving as a marketing manager for Paris-based spirit maker Pernod Ricard in Montreal.
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Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Building pharmaceutical sector strength
Manitoba's bioscience industry is inking collaboration commitments with other provinces as U.S. researchers increasingly look to move operations to Canada. Bioscience Association Manitoba signed a memorandum of understanding with BIOQuebec, its Quebec counterpart, in June. BAM is aiming for two more such agreements before Christmas. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Andrea Ladouceur, president of Bioscience Association Manitoba, at the group's Smart Park office on the University of Manitoba's Fort Garry campus. 'They are bigger provinces, they have more resources dedicated to the sector, they are more globally known,' said Andrea Ladouceur, BAM president. 'For Manitoba to be amongst those in a co-ordinated way, under an MOU, to help us collaborate — that's the fastest, most effective approach to bringing more opportunities to Manitoba.' Already, the pharmaceutical sector accounts for nearly seven per cent of Manitoba's GDP. Pfizer, Bausch Health and Dynacare have bases in the province. Ladouceur came into her role in January 2024; she's been seeking ways to grow interprovincial collaboration since. The election of U.S. President Donald Trump and resulting trade war tensions have helped bolster collaborative sentiment, she said. She's clocked a 'marked increase' in American companies enquiring about Manitoba. However, most queries are likely directed to larger provinces as U.S. research funds get slashed, she surmised. BIOQuebec confirmed it's fielded at least a dozen calls from Americans asking about relocating to the province since late spring. Life Sciences Ontario has discussed with a California-based business. The MOU with BIOQuebec — and, potentially soon, others — is meant to 'fill in the gaps in our ecosystem,' Ladouceur said. For example, if a Manitoba company needs a manufacturer for medicine it's creating, BAM might direct them to a BIOQuebec member. Quebec has also become 'the epicentre' of service providers able to find international manufacturers and ingredient makers that Canadian pharmaceutical companies need, Ladouceur said. She's hoping if U.S. companies land in Quebec, they'll be directed to Manitoba firms. BAM counts more than 200 members, including around 10 shared with BIOQuebec's pool of at least 300. Exposure to Manitoba might encourage Quebec companies to expand to the keystone province, Ladouceur said. 'This really is a limitless sector,' she added. 'There's more than enough for everybody.' BIOQuebec's interest in Manitoba stems from the province's 'dynamism,' said Benoît Larose, the organization's chief executive. 'In our experience, the smaller ecosystems are more willing to do business abroad,' he said. 'We don't have to convince them to do things with us — they want to do things with us.' BIOQuebec signed a memorandum of understanding with Life Sciences Ontario in March. Threats from the United States led to the MOUs, Larose said, noting BIOQuebec already had relationships with both associations. '(It) was a signal that we wanted to send to our own members,' he said. 'We should all be looking at the resources within Canada before considering doing business elsewhere. 'The 'elbows-up' attitude, that's what we decided to do.' Both Larose and Ladouceur noted U.S. tariffs and funding cuts have locked their members in uncertainty. Manitoba businesses import active pharmaceutical ingredients from the U.S. and export finished products south of the border. (Manitoba exported $211 million worth of packaged medicine in 2025's first quarter, a 70.5 per cent drop from the prior year. The Manitoba Bureau of Statistics pointed to a decline in U.S. imports.) Collaboration between provincial bioscience associations started growing pre-COVID-19 pandemic, said Jason Field, president of Life Sciences Ontario. The groups sit on the National Biotech Accord. Closeness emerged around 2017, when Ottawa sought to reform the patented medicine prices review board and drew industry pushback. It grew during the COVID-19 pandemic — while eyes were on pharmaceutical makers — and has continued during the Trump administration's latest reign, Field said. 'It's a real opportunity for Canada to differentiate itself on a global stage and be really competitive,' Field said. 'But … we have to make this an attractive business environment.' There's a gap in funding for bioscience companies who've reached the $2 million to $10 million range, and regulatory bodies tasked with approving Canadian health products have lacked speed, he asserted. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Inventions often start in Canada and end up commercialized by other countries, said Mary Argent-Katwala, senior director of stakeholder engagement for the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization. 'If a company left Vancouver, it's not that they're necessarily going to another province. They're probably going to Boston or San Diego,' Argent-Katwala said. OBIO is considering signing MOUs with peers in other provinces, Argent-Katwala added. Bioscience Association Manitoba aims to ink collaboration agreements across Canada. Such deals, including with BIOQuebec, could lead to more joint events and trade missions. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Knee surgery changes course of common knee problem, according to local researchers
London-based study shows that a specialized knee surgery can prevent knee replacement. CTV's Reta Ismail has more. Researchers at Western have made significant progress treating a common knee issue, allowing some to avoid knee replacement. People suffering with knee osteoarthritis, a condition which brings pain, stiffness and sometimes the need for joint replacement surgery, can undergo a surgical operation called high tibial osteotomy. 'So in the surgery, they'll take that maligned limb, so that bowed limb, and actually straighten it to shift loads away from the most damaged compartment of the knee,' said Dr. Trevor Birmingham, professor and Canada research chair in musculoskeletal rehabilitation in Western's faculty of health sciences. The study is led by researchers at Western University and the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic. A two-year clinical trial followed 145 patients and compared those who had HTO and non-surgical therapy with those who only had therapy. The results showed that HTO slowed joint damage, reduced pain and improved movement. This is the first real evidence that a treatment can cand the course of osteoarthritis. The surgery is less common than joint replacement, but the researchers believe it needs more attention to help people in their 50s with specific alignment issues. - With files from CTV's Reta Ismail
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Chronic wound patients get new hope from Calgary health tech company
Article content It could also change lives. Chronic wounds have been a scourge of health care for millennia; signs of pressure sores have been found in Egyptian mummies, Florence Nightingale reportedly said that a bed sore was 'generally not the fault of the disease, but of nursing.' Still, chronic wounds continue to keep millions of patients in hospital, in treatment, in discomfort and at risk. Article content Doing something to change the trajectory of chronic wounds became a mission of Julian Mulia, a chemical engineer originally from Mexico, who was inspired to look for solutions after losing both parents to chronic conditions, including managing wounds. He is chief operating officer of Calgary-based NanoTess. Co-founder Megan Leslie is CEO. Article content Article content The company describes its salve as a catalyst that uses the body's natural healing reactions to promote faster healing and reduce inflammation. Article content Article content 'Essentially, when a body is trying to heal a wound, it's like pushing a rock up a mountain. And a lot of us don't of the energy or resources to help make that (healing) reaction go to completion, which is where you get into chronic wound territory and your body just can't heal itself,' said Larissa Lalonde, strategy lead at the company. Article content What the salve does, Lalonde said, is lower the energy it takes to heal the wound 'so that more of those healing reactions can take place faster and better.' Article content During a provincial commercialization project funded by the CAN Health Network and conducted by Alberta Health Services and the University of Calgary, integrating the product into treatment improved wound healing in chronic wounds by 57.6 per cent. Those were wounds that had not healed for an average of more than one and a half years. Article content Bruyère, which has the largest specialty wound treatment unit as well as the only complex care facility in eastern Ontario, is also part of the CAN Health Network, a federally funded agency that supports Canadian health-care innovation. Based on validation by the Alberta Health Service, it tried out the product earlier this year, and it now plans to expand its use, DeZeeuw said. Article content Article content 'My goal is to get it throughout Bruyère Health,' she said. 'It has the potential to really help a lot of people.' Other nearby hospitals and long-term care homes are also looking at it, she said, and it is being used across Canada. Article content 'To my knowledge, there has not been a really significant breakthrough that has kind of flipped wound care on its head — at least since I have been in medical training,' DeZeeuw said. 'I am hopeful that this ends up being really helpful for at least a significant proportion of patients.' Article content That includes many people in hospital beds and long-term care homes across the country suffering from chronic bed sores, diabetic foot ulcers and complex surgical incisions. In some cases, chronic wounds keep them bedridden or away from their homes and families. Article content When a body is trying to heal a wound, it's like pushing a rock up a mountain. And a lot of us don't of the energy or resources to help make that (healing) reaction go to completion. Larissa Lalonde 'Often you suffer alone if you are dealing with a wound,' said Lalonde of NanoTess. 'It is not something that people typically talk openly about. But, when you do start to talk about it with friends or family, you realize how widespread this issue is.'
