With hundreds of promising new therapies in the pipeline, the pressure is rising to complete clinical trials quickly, efficiently and with the high quality data that regulators demand. Many life sciences leaders are finding the solutions they need in Ontario. Across the province, public and private sector researchers are conducting Phase I through IV clinical trials in fields ranging from cancer and cardiology to diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's and others.
Ontario has everything in place to get clinical trials up-and-running successfully:
- internationally recognized biomedical expertise with well-established clinical trials networks and contract research organizations
- streamlined access to a large (12+ million), demographically and ethnically diverse population
- significant project cost efficiencies plus generous R&D tax incentives.
The result? High quality data at lower costs.
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Fast Fact
The Princess Margaret Hospital Consortium was selected as the first Canadian centre to carry out the U.S. government's National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored phase II clinical trials of new anti-cancer drugs.
Internationally renowned biomedical expertise
Ontario is one of North America's pre-eminent biomedical centres. Our investigators are recognized for their expertise in managing complex clinical trials.
- We are the home of world-renowned research centres such as the University of Toronto's Banting and Best Department of Medical Research; Princess Margaret Hospital, the Hospital for Sick Children, the Ottawa Heart Institute and the London Health Sciences Centre.
- We are also home to about 50% of Canada's pharmaceutical and biotech companies and about 60% of all Canadian medical device companies. Altogether, more than 800 life sciences companies in Ontario employ 40,000 people and generate more than $10.7 billion in annual revenues.
- Our researchers bring a reputation for scientific excellence to every clinical trials project, large or small. Data from Ontario clinical trials is recognized by Canadian, U.S. and E.U. medical authorities.
Clinical trials systems that save time
Ontario has the people, expertise and network infrastructure to accelerate your clinical trials.
- Our centrally managed public healthcare system helps streamline patient characterization, recruitment and tracking.
- We have well-established contract research organizations with a wealth of experience in managing clinical trials across Canada and around the world.
- We have networks of high quality clinical sites with staff trained in Good Clinical Practices (GCP) and common standards of care which makes for easier multi-site data integration.
When GlaxoSmithKline, sanofi-aventis and King Pharmaceuticals needed an organization to co-ordinate the landmark DREAM Trial (Diabetes REduction Assessment with ramipril (Altace) and rosiglitazone (Avandia) Medication), they turned to the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), at Hamilton's McMaster University. The study, which tested whether Type II diabetes could be prevented among high-risk populations, involved more than 5,000 patients and 191 clinics in 21 countries.
The PHRI conducts some of the world's largest international clinical trials. Since the Institute was established in 1999 under the directorship of Dr. Salim Yusuf, it has steadily grown to 180 health care professionals including physicians, epidemiologists, statisticians and other research staff. Projects have involved more than 1,000 centres across Canada and 66 countries around the world. Over the last decade, more than 150,000 individuals have been enrolled in PHRI studies that have led to rapid drug approvals globally.
Why do life sciences companies choose PHRI for clinical trials?
Our group has led the successful completion of several large and efficient global studies involving tens of thousands of patients that has changed the practice of medicine worldwide and has improved the health of millions of individuals, says Dr. Yusuf. Our success is based on the dedication, skills, and innovation of our entire team, both in Hamilton and with our close collaborators around the globe.
Quality. Speed. Access. Those are the watchwords guiding the drive by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) to double the number of patients enrolled in cancer clinical trials by 2008.
To achieve that goal, it is investing more than $11 million in its network of 30 clinical trial sites and providing training for clinical trials professionals, centralized ethical reviews of multi-centre trials and a tumour bank with well-annotated samples for industry and academic researchers.
By accelerating the development and testing of innovative diagnostic methods and promising therapies, we are enhancing Ontario's cancer research capacity and helping patients receive new, more effective treatments for cancer sooner, said OICR's President and Scientific Director Thomas J. Hudson.
Project cost-efficiencies that save money
A wide range of factors help reduce the costs of clinical trials in Ontario.
- The costs for routine diagnostic procedures such as blood chemistry are often covered by our public healthcare system, which also helps offset the fees for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions such as MRI scans.
- Institutional overhead costs in Ontario are highly competitive as are labour costs, especially for research investigators and nurses with Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training.
- We offer very generous R&D tax incentives with a broad definition of what qualifies for tax purposes. The incentives are calculated on total R&D spending, not just incremental amounts as they are in the U.S. and expenditures can be carried forward indefinitely.
| Ontario | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Wages and salaries | yes | yes |
| Capital equipment | yes | |
| Materials | yes | yes |
| Overhead | yes | |
| Contract expenses | yes | 65% to 75% |
All figures are in US dollars unless noted.
Fast Fact
Private and public sector researchers in Ontario conduct more than $8.5 billion in R&D annually.
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Government support for biomedical research and commercialization
R&D is a major industry in Ontario with a critical mass of researchers, facilities and suppliers to support major projects.
- Pharmaceutical companies alone spend more than $350 million annually on R&D in Ontario.
- The Ontario government has committed $1.4 billion to support research and innovation. A healthy life sciences sector is a priority, with a special focus on improving the commercialization of new medical breakthroughs and discoveries.
- Major government investments have included almost $250 million for the new Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, part of which is earmarked for clinical trials infrastructure, and almost $60 million for the MaRS Centre in downtown Toronto. MaRS is an innovative, award-winning facility that brings together researchers, industry leaders and financiers under one roof.
Population Snapshot
- 12+ million people, roughly 1/3 of all Canadians
- median age: 38
- 80% live in urban areas
- ethnically diverse. Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world.
Fast Fact
Our R&D tax incentive program is one of the most generous in the G7. The after-tax cost of a $100 R&D expenditure can be reduced to less than $41.
Ontario has provided fertile ground for the growth of Toronto-based Endpoint Research, a full-service CRO with offices in the U.S. (Boston) and the U.K. (Edinburgh). Since 1990, the company has grown steadily by providing Phase I/II to IV clinical development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies in most major therapeutic areas, with specialties in oncology, vaccines, transplantation and CNS, for trials in North America and Europe.Universal and standardized healthcare plus a well-established research community with centres of therapeutic excellence and experienced investigators make Ontario an ideal location to conduct clinical trials, says Wendy Porter, President, Endpoint Research.
Researchers at Toronto General Hospital, St. Michael's Hospital, the London Health Sciences Centre and other Ontario research institutes are participating in global multicentre clinical trials in three key therapeutic areas – organ transplantation, fungal infections and dermatology – sponsored by Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma, one of the world's top 20 pharmaceutical companies.
My scientific colleagues outside Canada love to include Ontario sites in our trials because patient enrollment is high and on time and the overall quality of the trials is excellent, says Hiro Ozaki, President of Astellas Pharma Canada. The costs tend to be lower here and the R&D tax credits are attractive, but the strongest reason for conducting trials in Ontario is the exceptional quality of the science, the institutions and the doctors.
Central location in the North American market
As well as being a focal point for science, Ontario is a leading North American centre for business, entertainment, the arts and tourism.
- We're part of the $13.8+ trillion NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) market. People, products and ideas move freely across our borders.
- We have five international airports. Ontario's major cities – Toronto, Hamilton, London, Thunder Bay and Ottawa – are, at most, a two-to-three hour flight from major U.S. centres.
- North American similarities in our practice of medicine, regulatory frameworks, culture and language, as well as sharing common time zones, smooth the way for project partnerships with U.S. firms.
- Our cultural, scientific and trade connections with Europe and Asia provide a strong foundation for multi-centred international research collaborations.
Fast Fact
Since its inception in 1971, the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group (NCIC CTG), based at Queen's University in Kingston, has enrolled more than 40,000 patients from Canada and around the world in over 300 clinical trials.
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