Page 90 - InvestAlberta-EDA-2025

BY THE NUMBERS
AT A GLANCE
$2 BILLION
Revenue generated by life sciences sector
in Alberta in 2022
$2.6 BILLION
In venture capital investments attracted by the life
sciences sector since 2013
>23,000 JOBS
In the life sciences sector in Alberta
Advances in Medicine
Preventing disease in high-risk people, developing drugs to ease their pain and
creating new medical devices so they can lead happier lives — these life-changing medical
advancements all start with clinical trials. And thanks to provincial organizations and
initiatives, more and more people can attribute their new-found health to Alberta.
The 2021 launch of Clinical Trials Alberta, which provides a central access and
collaboration point between industry and Alberta’s clinical trial assets, attracts major
medical businesses from around the world.
These connections improve patient outcomes and showcase that Alberta remains a
big player on the global health-care stage.
GROWTH STAGE FOR
LIFE SCIENCES COMPANIES
IN ALBERTA
3.4%
14.2%
Probiotic Plant Power
Something’s growing in the Athabasca region, and it could have positive
environmental effects around the world — researchers can feel it in their guts.
Most people know probiotics promote gut health, but Athabasca University
Assistant Professor Dr. Srijak Bhatnagar is restoring prairie grassland at a former coal
mine using fungi and bacteria — essentially, “probiotics for plants.”
Athabasca University, along with Lethbridge Polytechnic and the Nature
Conservancy of Canada, will work together on the $500,000 project, introducing
fungi and bacteria to native grass seedlings, restoring a healthy balance of micro-
organisms in the area the same way traditional probiotics restore the balance of
bacteria in your gut.
34.3%
48.0%
Growth phase
Emerging phase
Maturity phase
Non-respondents
Revolutionizing Cancer Care
Edmonton-based Pacylex Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2012, with the goal of
improving post-diagnosis cancer care. But it’s revolutionized the process instead.
Myristoylation is a natural process that helps build growth-signalling pathways and
regulates metabolism in cells. When this process malfunctions, it can cause cancers.
But by targeting a myristoylation-essential enzyme, the company is able to disrupt the
tumour’s signalling system and metabolism, stopping its growth while leaving normal
cells intact. The drug’s success in Phase 1 human trials led it to be named BioAlberta’s
2024 Company of the Year.
In an interview with the University of Alberta last December, company co-founder Luc
Berthiaume said “We want to let people — donors, investors and other investigators —
know that it is possible to do translational research in Alberta, that you can go from the
idea, the results in the lab and translate that into a medicine that can be used by patients.”
SUB-SECTORS IN ALBERTA’S LIFE SCIENCES:
• Agricultural Biotechnology (incl. animal
health)
• Cannabis
• Digital Health (incl. virtual care,
tele-medicine, AI/machine learning)
• Environmental Biotechnology
• Health Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals
• Hemp
• Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing
(biofuels, biorefining, clean technology)
90
90 EDAAlberta.ca
INVEST IN ALBERTA 2 0 2 5
INVEST IN ALBERTA 2 0 2 5
• Medical Technology, Diagnostics &
Devices
• Natural Health Products
• Plant Protein & Functional Ingredients
• Psychedelics
Sources: Applied Pharma, BioAlberta