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Western Canada's Medical Device Industry Advantage

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"Thanks to the skills and dedication of our Manitoba workforce, both the health care and corrosion protection operations have earned internationally recognized ISO quality registration." — Ernie King, Vice-President, Manufacturing and Engineering, 3M Canada Company

Relatively young and very diverse, Western Canada's medical device industry is already having a global impact. Products that include specialty contact lenses, artificial heart valves, diagnostic imaging systems, orthopaedic prosthetics and medical laboratory diagnostic instruments are improving everyday living and saving lives—as well as contributing to Canada's economy. With sales of medical devices by Canadian firms generating $3.8 billion in 2003 and increasing to $5 billion in 2005, much of the world is benefiting from Canadian technology. Exports, primarily to the United States, but also to Germany and Japan, account for almost 60 per cent of the industry's total net sales.

In Western Canada, more than 200 companies employing an estimated 4,000 people are developing, manufacturing and selling their medical devices. Many innovative firms are concentrated in Vancouver, British Columbia, supported by the research carried out at the universities in the province. The University of British Columbia is the first-ranked academic institution and third-ranked organization overall in Canada for the number of U.S. patents granted between 1997 and 2002, behind only Nortel Networks and Siemens. Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg are other leading cities investing in the research-based device industry. The pioneering activity of Western Canadian device and drug-device companies, such as VSM MedTech, RIVA (Robotic IV Automation) and QLT, are attracting the attention of the investment community.

Award-Winning Products

  • Helen Keller Prize for Innovation in Eye Care, QLT Inc., Vancouver, for Visudyne™, which treats wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 50.
  • Best New Radiology Vendor, Innovative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems, Winnipeg, which designs and manufactures surgical imaging systems for neurological, spinal and soft tissue procedures.
  • Medical Imaging Product Value of the Year Award, Imaging Dynamics Company (IDC), Calgary, for its Xplorer 1600 digital radiography system.

Competitive Strengths

Cardiovascular Devices and Treatments

  • In Burnaby, British Columbia, a division of the Sorin Group has developed and manufactures a unique heart valve made from biological material derived from bovine tissue. It normally requires no ongoing anticoagulant therapy, making it preferable for many patients.
  • Vancouver-based Angiotech Pharmaceuticals pioneered drug-coated stents, one of the most promising breakthroughs for the medical device industry and the foundation of the multi-billion-dollar global stent business.

Assistive Technologies

  • Madentec Limited, in Edmonton, Alberta, is a world-leading supplier of assistive technologies, designing and manufacturing products that provide people with physical disabilities 100-per cent hands-free access and control of computers and communication devices. The award-winning company has identified a new market for its technology solutions: now dentists and surgeons who use Madentec products can perform sterile procedures while manipulating medical images remotely.

Why Invest in Western Canada's Medical Devices Industry?

Foreign-owned companies looking for commercial partners will find that Western Canadian medical device firms operate in niche markets and develop partnerships with complementary firms. For example, Phenomenome Discoveries in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which uses its proprietary metabolomics technology to study the global effects of genetic and environmental changes on living organisms, welcomes strategic partnerships. Foreign companies will also find a market for the sale of intellectual property.

More Reasons to Invest

  • Relatively short development windows and rapid market access
  • Less costly and time-consuming clinical trials than for pharmaceuticals
  • Multiple access points to assess, participate in, and benefit from research developments
  • Immediate and full write-off for all expenditures in R&D capital equipment, and appreciable tax credits
  • Low operating and business costs
  • Generous R&D tax treatment

Cost-Competitive and Trade-Friendly

Canada's business costs rank the lowest among the G7 countries with a 4.1-point advantage over the United States, an 11.3-point advantage over Germany and a 10.2-point advantage over Japan. Canada's labour and benefit costs are the lowest in the G7. (Source: 2006 edition of KPMG's Competitive Alternatives, a guide to international business costs)

Low-Cost Leaders of Western Canada

  • Saskatoon, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary are the four leading low-cost medical device locations among cities in the Midwestern United States and Western Canada.
  • In cities in the Pacific region of North America, Vancouver is the second most cost-competitive medical device location.

Highly Skilled and Productive Workforce

Canada's health science research community comprises more than 30,000 investigators in 16 medical schools, and approximately 100 teaching hospitals and research institutes. Among the OECD countries, Canada has the highest percentage of individuals with at least a college or university education.

Solid Research and Development Infrastructure

The Government of Canada has funded research support programs, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, which provides funding for health research in 13 key areas. 

The Government of Canada has funded research support programs, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, which provides funding for health research in 13 key areas.

The medical device industry draws on world-class research conducted in Western Canadian universities, research institutes and hospitals. The Government of Canada has funded research support programs, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, which provides funding for health research in 13 key areas. Ten health-related networks of centres of excellence for areas such as photonic innovations, robotics and intelligent systems, and microelectronic devices, circuits and systems, are also available to facilitate prototype development, production and manufacturing, as well as R&D and access to specialized input. A dedicated medical beamline at the recently established Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon, Canada's only synchrotron research facility, has enormous potential to support discovery and innovation in medical diagnostics and treatment, as well as pharmaceutical drug development.

A Climate for Growth

McKesson Corporation, a pharmaceuticals distributor headquartered in California, was looking to strengthen its distribution network and improve its technology portfolio. In 2002, McKesson purchased A.L.I. Technologies of Richmond, British Columbia, for $536 million, the largest cash acquisition of a B.C. technology company at the time. A.L.I. Technologies had developed a state of the art medical digital imaging system. Now known as McKesson Medical Imaging Group, the company provides digital imaging systems to a wide variety of medical installations throughout the world. The head office of the McKesson Medical Imaging Group remains in Richmond.

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Date Modified: 2009-11-12

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