Government of Canada invites small businesses to develop computer tools for vaccine matching

As the single largest purchaser of goods and services, the federal government is using procurement to help Canadian small businesses succeed.

 

Through the Innovative Solutions Canada program, government departments are inviting small businesses to propose a new innovative solution that addresses a specific challenge they face. Successful small businesses may receive up to $150,000 to refine their research and development and could, if accepted into Phase 2, receive up to $1 million to develop a working prototype. The government can then act as a first customer, which helps small businesses to commercialize their innovations, scale up their business and create good middle-class jobs across Canada.

 

Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, announced the launch of a new challenge from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

 

CFIA is challenging small businesses to develop a computer model that will help specialists determine which vaccination strain would be most successful at preventing and controlling foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in livestock (cattle, sheep and swine). A successful solution to this challenge would use predictive technology to identify viral strains that can be used as vaccines to protect livestock in the event of an outbreak of the disease.  

 

Innovative Solutions Canada is a key component of the government's Innovation and Skills Plan, a multi-year plan to make Canada a global innovation leader and prepare Canadians to succeed in tomorrow's economy.

Video: Finding a Balance of Innovation and Regulation - Dr. Peter Facchini

Regulations help markets and industry exist on level playing fields, keeping consumers safe and innovation from going too far. However, incredibly strict regulations can stunt innovation and cause entire industries to wither away. Dr. Peter James Facchini brings his perspective on how existing regulations have slowed the advancement of medical developments within Canada. Given the international concern of opium poppy’s illicit potential, Health Canada must abide by this global policy. But with modern technology pushing the development of many pharmaceuticals to being grown via fermentation, is it time to reconsider the rules?

Dr. Peter James Facchini leads research into the metabolic biochemistry in opium poppy at the University of Calgary. For more than 30 years, his work has contributed to the increased availability of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthetic genes to assist in the creation of morphine for pharmaceutical use. Dr. Facchini completed his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Toronto before completing Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1992 & Université de Montréal in 1995.