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Life Sciences Cluster—Change for 2019

On May 9, the life sciences cluster held it’s annual rendez-vous at Domaine Cataraqui. This event was an opportunity for members of the cluster, and more generally the life sciences and health technology industry, to learn about the cluster’s achievements over the past year, see what is coming up and discuss the field’s specific orientation and challenges to find solutions as a group.

Almost 60 people attended the event. PetalMD founder and CEO and life sciences cluster President Patrice Gilbert started by laying out the current industry position and highlighting major challenges for the future.

Then, GenePOC CEO and cluster executive committee member Patrice Allibert revealed the strategic issues identified as part of the cluster’s strategic direction procedures. These include:

  • Creating a concerted vision for developing the ecosystem;
  • Promoting commercialization and the development of new markets;
  • Supporting access to startup and growth capital;
  • Expanding the pool of highly qualified talents.

These topics were then further developed with participants during workshops and discussions. The goal was to identify current needs and come up with ideas to support industry growth and guide the cluster in terms of priorities and actions. The conclusions and ideas discussed will be explored in future reflections by the cluster executive committee.

Later in the evening, life sciences cluster Director Justin Mallet presented the group’s actions, activities and results for last year. In total, the region's life sciences sector generated nearly $27,9M in benefits in 2018, partly thanks to the actions of the cluster and its partners.

The new cluster brand image was also revealed during the event. More information will be communicated in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!