Your physician may not have mentioned it at your last appointment but here鈥檚 a factor that鈥檚 vital to your overall health: Canadian sovereignty.
The trade war threatening our jobs, our cost of living and our border has another target in its sights: our health care.
The biotech and health tech sectors have been upended by economic instability, and the Trump administration is considering that have the potential to disrupt the supply chain that exports billions of dollars of medical ingredients.
All of which means that fostering innovation and self-sufficiency in our health care system doesn鈥檛 just benefit our well-being 鈥斕齣t鈥檚 also a national imperative.
Despite the upheaval, Canada is cultivating a host of health-oriented breakthroughs that hold the promise of life-altering new treatments.
And as U.S. government policies cut funding for American research, there may be more opportunities for Canada to support revolutionary innovation. Here are four trends bringing new health benefits to Canadians and the world.
New cancer diagnostics are making health care more accessible
Spotting the first signs of cancer can be the most significant factor in , and the newest innovation in pursuit of that goal is liquid biopsies.
Where traditional tissue biopsies rely on physical samples extracted from a tumour, liquid biopsies use blood, saliva or urine to detect and monitor the development of malignant cells at the 听thanks to cutting-edge technologies.
Two advantages are driving these innovations forward. First, liquid biopsies are quick, painless and far less invasive, and, perhaps more importantly, they can be administered outside of a hospital setting. Instead of going to a test, a test could, theoretically, come closer to you, which creates new possibilities for early detection and ongoing monitoring 鈥斕齛nd could be hugely beneficial in improving access to care, especially in underserved communities.
鈥淭he potential savings for care are enormous, especially since the cost of treating someone with late-stage cancer is so high,鈥 says , a senior investigator and the director of genomics at the (OICR).
Earlier this year, the OICR acquired an Ultima sequencer, a powerful new instrument that allows researchers to analyze volumes of DNA for a fraction of what the process previously cost.
鈥淭he big conceptual shift is not looking at single genes; it鈥檚 looking at the entire genome. It becomes a platform to learn not just about cancer, but potentially about other disorders as well,鈥 he adds. 鈥淚t really is the future.鈥
Liquid biopsies have been rolled out at select Canadian hospitals, in and , and three local ventures are among the companies developing different approaches to these diagnostics.
Kingston-based is using DNA testing to monitor therapy response and cancer progression, including in metastatic breast cancer and .听
Kitchener startup is developing a novel method that can scan a blood sample for signs of a variety of cancers. And , based in 海角社区官网and Oxford, U.K., are developing a test for early-stage lung cancer.
鈥淭he proliferation of companies operating in this space is a big opportunity, because they鈥檙e really putting these technologies into practice,鈥 says Pugh. 鈥淭his level of research intensity is the type of thing that will drive adoption.鈥
Real-life data is fuelling advances in personalized medicine
If anyone knows how much your eyes reveal, it鈥檚 your optometrist. Whether or not they lean into poetic interpretations, those specialists have a unique window into a that may first come to attention during an annual eye exam, including early signs of heart disease and diabetes, as well as multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke and certain cancers.
海角社区官网medical AI startup has been developing tools that would allow optometrists to identify years before any symptoms appear. 听
鈥淲e saw that there are huge gaps in care,鈥 says RetiSpec鈥檚 chief business officer Catherine Bornbaum, 鈥渁nd what we learned is that optometry provides a unique opportunity to help address those gaps.鈥
Instead of running clinical trials, which can be prohibitively expensive, RetiSpec partnered with several optometry clinics in Canada and the U.S. to collect real-world data during routine eye exams. The company鈥檚 non-invasive test can detect the buildup of amyloid plaque on the retina, allowing optometrists to identify early signs of 础濒锄丑别颈尘别谤鈥檚 and refer patients to specialists to confirm a diagnosis.
鈥淥ne of my hopes, says Bornbaum, 鈥渋s that by providing this information to people, it can be a helpful tool for their concerns to be taken seriously, to have a proper workup done, and to get them the answers and hopefully the treatment that they require.鈥
The next steps for RetiSpec are a regulatory study and filings that would enable them to roll out their technology听 in eye clinics next year.听
GLP-1s could be used for more than just weight loss
There鈥檚 no shortage of headlines about GLP-1 agonist class medications such as Wegovy and Ozempic, and it feels like almost all of those stories have focused on weight loss (more often than not in celebrities).
But we鈥檙e only starting to hear the most important revelations about these glucagonlike peptides 鈥 including the fact that they can solve problems that extend well beyond waistlines.
These drugs, originally designed to treat Type-2 diabetes, mimic a that lowers blood sugar, slows digestion and suppresses appetite.
In short, they target metabolism, which is why they鈥檝e proven to be effective weight-loss tools. It鈥檚 also why are showing that they may be useful treating a host of other metabolic-related conditions.
鈥淕LP-1 medicines continue to surprise us scientifically, with a range of new mechanisms enabling exciting new opportunities for therapeutic application in the clinic, including arthritis, metabolic liver disease, heart disease and kidney disease,鈥 says , a doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital and a professor at the University of Toronto, whose research collaborations led to the discovery and development of GLP drugs.
This one class of drug shows so much potential for a simple reason: obesity is a contributing factor in close to 85 per cent of all illnesses, says Zayna Khayat, adjunct faculty at the University of Toronto鈥檚 , and the health futurist in residence at .
鈥淚t鈥檚 because your metabolism is out of whack,鈥 she says. 鈥淪o a drug that restores metabolic homeostasis is going to fundamentally change every disease.鈥
As our understanding of GLP-1s deepens, so does our potential to optimize how they鈥檙e prescribed for obesity 鈥 something our physicians don鈥檛 always have the bandwidth to deliver.
A new 海角社区官网venture has developed a platform to better help support patients on these medications. is providing patients with a regimen that includes behavioural guidelines related to diet, exercise and mental health, as well as information about potential side effects.
To improve users鈥 success, the company provides AI-powered around-the-clock support via text messaging and keeps tabs on misinformation spread on social media, which it counters with fact-based science.
America鈥檚 science exiles could boost Canadian biotech
Last month, 75 per cent of U.S. scientists polled by Nature magazine said they鈥檙e .
There鈥檚 a growing fear that the Trump administration鈥檚 assault on immigration, universities, research funding and federal institutions amounts to that will have devastating impacts for decades to come.
Watching the chaos unfold from Canada, , a principal at life sciences venture capital firm , has been wondering whether providing opportunities for those seeking so-called 鈥渟cientific asylum鈥 could mitigate some of that devastation.
As he sees it, geopolitical uncertainty makes this a vital time to bolster Canada鈥檚 scientific community. And with an increasingly older demographic facing higher rates of chronic illness, advances in biotech aren鈥檛 just important for government budgets and quality of life.
鈥淎ccess to novel medicines is being recognized as core to national security and economic resilience,鈥 says Srinivasa. 鈥淭his was particularly apparent during the COVID pandemic, when Canada lagged behind in access to vaccines.鈥
To catalyze a 鈥渂rain gain鈥 with benefits for the economy, the biotech sector and the treatments available to everyday Canadians, we need to do more than roll out a welcome mat; we need to bankroll innovation.
鈥淣othing attracts people more than successful companies,鈥 says Srinivasa. 鈥淎nd to build large companies, we need more depth of capital in the market. This allows for sufficient risk-taking from the investor base and the ability to attract talent comfortable with pushing the boundaries of innovation to build and grow companies and perpetuate this positive feedback loop.鈥
This is also a good time to lean into something our country doesn鈥檛 always do well: trumpet our accomplishments. Srinivasa recognizes Canada鈥檚 advantages in AI, antibodies and RNA technology. 鈥淏ut if I have to pick one underappreciated Canadian strength,鈥 he says, 鈥渋t would be clinical trials.鈥澨
Given the current upheaval at the FDA and elsewhere in the U.S., he adds, 鈥淣ow is the time to capitalize on this to bring new medicines to Canadian patients.鈥
The upcoming conference on May 7 & 8 will bring together the innovators at the front lines of Canada鈥檚 health care revolution. Check out the full program .
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