Bioscience Association Manitoba Applauds Government Action to Advance Bioscience Research and Clinical Trials in Manitoba
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Bioscience Association Manitoba (BAM) welcomes the Manitoba government's latest announcement to launch a Clinical Trials Office, and the implementation of the Research Manitoba led project, Research Improvements Through Harmonization in Manitoba (RITHIM), both designed to accelerate and improve health research in the province.
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'For too long, the process of moving innovative research into real-world care has taken longer in Manitoba than in other jurisdictions,' said Andrea Ladouceur, President & CEO of BAM. 'Both the new Manitoba Clinical Trials Office and RITHIM are key pieces of the puzzle that will help connect research to our ecosystem and shorten timelines and enables research to get where it's needed, into the lives of Manitobans.'
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Manitoba has led with action on the top 2 recommendations from the Manitoba Clinical Trials Working Group. The first is to create a Clinical Trials office to champion connections between researcher and resources and the second is to create a timebound standardized processes.
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BAM was honoured to co-chair this Working Group over the past 10 months developing recommendations to improve how research is conducted in the province.
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The new Manitoba Clinical Trials Office, announced by Honourable Jamie Moses, Minister of Business, Mining, Trade, and Job Creation, will help champion Manitoba as a destination for world-class clinical research. RITHIM will also help shorten process timelines. Learn more at https://biomb.ca/manitoba-clinical-trails/.
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'Clinical trials are essential to getting new, innovative medicines into our healthcare system,' noted Ladouceur. 'Canada uses only about 20 per cent of the innovative medicines available in other G7 countries. Manitoba can and should lead the way in changing that.'
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The bioscience sector contributes approximately 7 per cent of Manitoba's GDP, with medicine ranked as the province's top export. Manitoba is home to a growing hub of companies like Bausch Health, Pfizer, Cytophage Technologies, Emergent, Kane Biotech, and Dynacare, which are developing solutions that help patients return to healthier lives.
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'Our members are leaders in how we heal, feed, and fuel the world,' said Ladouceur. 'But innovation only matters if it reaches people. Many patients can't wait for life-saving treatments. That's why we need to continuously improve how we move research from the lab into people's lives,' noted Andrea.
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With this announcement, BAM sees Manitoba taking a strong step forward toward a more coordinated, responsive, and globally competitive research environment.
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'We're proud to support this important milestone,' added Ladouceur. 'Manitoba is the right place for research to thrive with strong values around inclusivity, a commitment to quality, and a collaborative mindset. We look forward to what comes next.'
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Bioscience Association Manitoba (BAM) is a not-for-profit industry association that enables commercial success for bioscience companies in Manitoba by acting as a catalyst for innovation, leading with one unified voice for all bioscience advancement and growth, and supporting a future-focused workforce.
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