For those who think “tiff” is a file format for quantitative gel scans, I hardly need to point out that we are in the midst of National Biotechnology Week here in Canada [1] (it runs from the 17th to 24th). For the rest of you, here is some notable news that is devoid of red carpets and couture:
In the lead-up to National Biotechnology Week, Saskatchewan hosted the Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference [2]. ABIC provided an opportunity for Canada to showcase its strengths in agricultural biotechnology, for me to showcase my strengths in agricultural puns, and for Premier Brad Wall to showcase a new $5 million funding program.
One of this year’s big policy initiatives for National Biotechnology Week is to expand Canada’s Flow-Through Shares program from mining and wind power to include biotech and other cleantech companies [3]. Flow-Through Shares have the potential to seriously boost capital influx into Canada’s biotech industry.
As the week kicked off, new Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation Glen Murray [4] spoke at the Ontario launch (video [5]); and the FDA opened public hearings on AquaBounty salmon [6] (developed in Prince Edward Island). Click on through — neither should be hard to swallow.
To see how things turn out for sterile salmon and flow-through advocates, stay tuned to The Cross-Border Biotech Blog [7] and @crossborderbio [8] on Twitter.