2911,Ave.Marie-Curie,Montréal,QCH4S2C3T.514.375.5800F.514.375.5801
GREEN CROSS BIOTHERAPEUTICS INC. SUBMISSION TO
CANADA’S INNOVATION AGENDA
A COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT CANADA’S LIFE SCIENCES SECTOR WITH INNOVATION
DECEMBER 2016
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IntroductionGreenCrossBiotherapeuticsInc(GCBT)isproudtoparticipateintheconsultationforCanada’sInnovationAgenda.WesupportthevisiontheGovernmentofCanadahasfortheInnovationAgendaandwithourstronginternationalrecordinpharmaceuticalandbiotechnologies,webelieveourpresenceinCanadawillassistthisvision.Weunderstandthatwhenthebusinesssector,entrepreneursandinnovatorspooltheirskills,talentandexperience,Canada’sgrowthandwell-beingwillbenefit.Since1967,theGreenCrossFamilyhasaccumulatedhalfacentury’sworthofexperienceandexpertiseinthevitalindustriesofpharmaceuticalandbiotechnologies.Now,asthecornerstoneofGreenCross’sglobalexpansionstrategy,wearehonoredtoestablishourNorthAmericanheadquartersinMontrealandintegrateourselvesintotheCanadianlifesciencescommunity.GreenCrossandourCanadiancompany,GreenCrossBiotherapeutics(GCBT),areexcitedtocontributeinfacilitatingandpromotinginnovation–tofocusonthegrowthofthebiopharmaindustryanddevelopadiverserangeofopportunitiestogeneratequalityemploymentforCanadians.GreenCrosswillachievethesecontributionsthroughourtransferofexpertise,businessinvestmentsinbiotherapeuticmedicinesandthedomesticmanufacturingofessentialplasmaproteinandbiologicproducts.
OurMission–ADevotiontoTheHealthyLivesofPeopleTheGreenCrossgroupisarenownedSouthKoreanhealthcarecorporationheadquarteredinYongin,SouthKorea.Ratherthantakingthemoreconventionalroute,GreenCrosshastakentheless“welltroddenpath”andexploreditthoroughly,specializinginthecomplexdevelopmentandmanufacturingofplasmaproteinderivatives,preventivevaccines,recombinantbiologicsandtherapeuticantibodies.Wearepassionateabouthealth-careandensureourproductsegmentsupportshealthierpopulations.Ourvisionistobeagloballeaderinthehealthcareindustry,buildingonourglobalpresenceinover50countries,andapproximately4,300employeesworldwide.Weareproudinnovatorswithdecadesofexperienceinsuccessfulmassproductionofplasmaderivativesandvaccines,anddevelopmentofstate-of-the-artbio-manufacturingfacilities.TheGreenCrossCommitmenttoResearch&DevelopmentResearch&DevelopmentinitiativeshavebeenagrowthengineforGreenCrossfordecadesandwealignthesetofocusonthedevelopmentofourflagship
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competencies,namelyplasmaproteinsandvaccinesandoptimizeinvestmentstofindcuresforrarediseases.Thisallowsustocontinuallyinnovateandbeflexibletothechanginghealthdemandsworldwideastheglobalhealthcommunityconstantlystrugglestokeepupwithnewailments,pandemics,diseasesandstressesonhealth-caresystemstokeeppopulationshealthy.WebelieveourR&Dinvestments,innovation,cultureandworkforcearethefoundationsofourcorporateDNA.OurcorporatephilosophyofdeliveringinnovationthroughR&DinitiativesaredescribedbelowandcanserveasmodelsforCanadianbenefaction:§ GreenCrosshasoneofthehighestlevelsofinvestmentsinR&DinKorea.This
includesa15.2%CAGRinR&Dinvestmentsandinrecentyearswehaveconsistentlyinjectedmorethan10%oftotalannualsales.
§ TheGreenCrossR&Dcenter,formedin1982,andcompletelyre-vampedin2013,isthelargestresearchinstituteinSouthKorea.ThisR&Dcenterisequippedwithstate-of-the-artisolatedanalysisfacilities,cutting-edgeequipmentforthedevelopmentofnewmedicinesandatestsubstancemanufacturingareaforconductingnon-clinicaltrials.Bycontributingtoourfuturesuccessinthedevelopmentofnewmedicines,theupgradedfacilitywillleadtofurtherincreasesintermsofsales,earningsandinvestmentsinR&D,allowingustocompeteonanequalbasiswithotherleadingpharmaceuticalandbiotechcompanies.
§ RealizingtheoutputoftheR&Dcenter,GreenCrosshasgrowntoproduce12plasmaderivedproteinsandvariouslife-savingmedicines.Severalkeyflagshipproductsinclude:
Urokinase [StrokeMedicine]IVIG [IntravenousImmunoglobulin]GreenGeneF [GeneRecombinantHemophiliaA]Immunecell-LC [Diagnosticreagentforliverandcolorectal
cancer]Idursulfase [TreatmentofHuntersyndrome–2ndintheworld]GCFLU [TrivalentandQuadrivalentInfluenzaVaccine–
oneoftwocompaniesintheworldthathaveobtainedaWHOprequalificationforbothsingle-andmulti-doseinfluenzavaccines]
§ TheMogamBiotechnologyResearchInstitute(MBRI)wasestablishedin1984
isdedicatedtothedevelopmentofplatformtechnologiesforcell-cultureandmonoclonalantibodies,newrecombinantproteindiscoveryandvaccinedevelopmentincludingavianflu,andvaricellazoster.MBRIhasregisteredmorethan200patentsanditsresearchershavepublishedover130academicpapers.
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§ InordertoadvanceinnovationthroughR&D,GreenCrossnotonlymaximizes
theefficiencyofitsownresearchcenters,butpursuesbothforeignanddomesticindustry-academiacollaboration,strategicpartnershipswithadvancedcompaniesandexternalresearchinstitutes,andactivelyinvestsandpartnerswithbio-venturecompanies.Severalpublicisedexamplesinclude:
GreenCrossR&D- MacroGenics:DevelopmentofFc-optimizedchimericmonoclonalAntibody
targetingHER2positivebreastcancer
GreenCrossHoldingsInvestment- Argos:TreatmentofrenalcellcarcinomawithmRNA-loadeddendriticcellimmunotherapy
- Juventas:Stromalcell-derivedfactor1ofwhichindicationisperipheralarterydisease
- Stemedica:Variousstemcelltherapyaswellasproductionofstemcellmediatedfactors
GreenCrossLabcell
- Oxfordbiomedica:DevelopmentofnextgenerationNK(NaturalKiller)celltherapy
MBRI- LaJollaInstituteofAllergyandImmunology:Immune-oncologystudies- UniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego:Preliminarytestofnovelchemicaladjuvantfornext-generationvaccine
ACanadianGreenCrossStoryGreenCrossBiotherapeuticsInc.ishonoredtobeintegratedintotheCanadianlifesciencescommunityandcallMontrealourhomebaseforourNorthAmericanheadquarters.Montrealwaschosenforits’thrivinglifesciencessector,international-caliberresearch,innovationandhighlyskilledworkforce–allkeycomponentsofhowCanadaispositioningitselfashavingaglobal,regionalandlocalinnovationculture.TheGCBTinvestmentinCanada,undertheprojecttitle“Oasis”,isworthover$350MandincludesapartnershipwiththeProvinceofQuebecthroughInvestissementQuébec.ItisthelargestinvestmentintheCanadianbiopharmaceuticalsectoroverthelastdecadeandtheinvestmentsizealsoimpacts
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theCanadianeconomybycontributingmorethan$200MtodomesticGDPandmorethan$80Mtopurchasingpower.Thispartnershipandinvestmentisacommitmentthatisgoingtoresultintheconstructionofafullyintegratedandstate-of-the-artbio-manufacturingfacilitytoproduceIVIG,albuminandotherplasmaproteinproducts.GCBTwillsupporttheirglobalexpansionstrategythroughthisadvancedfacilityandsupplyplasmaproteinproductstotheCanadian,US,KoreanandChinesemarketsfollowingacommerciallaunchin2019,furthercontributingtoreducingtheCanadiantradedeficit.
Withthisnewfacility,GreenCrosswilldrivehighlyskilledjobcreationopportunitiesthataligntotheprioritiesoftheInnovationAgendaandgoals.Weplantocreateover200highlyqualifiedjobs,i.e.:scientists,microbiologists,chemists,etc.andadditionally,duringtheimplementationandramp-upphasesoftheproject,createover2000jobsinvarioussectorsofthelocal,regionalandnationaleconomytosupportthefractionationplantrequirements.
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Finally, GCBThasdesignedandbuiltahigh-performancebio-manufacturingfacilityplantwhilekeepinginminditslong-termsustainabilityaligningwithLEED®standards.Assuch,GCBTaimstoearnaLEED®certificationuponthecompletionoftheproject.GCBTisoneofthefirstmanufacturingfacilitiesinCanadatotargetthiscertificationsincetheintroductionofthisprogrambyCanadaGreenBuildingCouncil.Tolearnmorevisitwww.cagbc.org.InnovationinCanada’sHealthSectorGreenCross’svisionistobeagloballeaderinthehealthcareindustry,andthisbeginsinCanada.ByintroducingCanada’sonlycommercialscaleIVIGmanufacturingfacility,theCanadianhealth-caresystemwillgenerateeventualsavingsthroughcostsassociatedwithHema-QuebecandtheCanadianBloodServices.ThepresenceofGCBTinCanadareflectsinnovation,asourdomesticplasmafractionationprocessisauniquebusinessmodelthatfostersamoreefficientandeffectivehealth-caresystemandwilldeliversavingstobere-investedintothehealth-caresystem.Toputthisintoperspective,considerthatthecurrentplasmademandinCanadaisapproximately1.2millionlitersforfractionationannually.TheGCBTfacilityhasaninitial1-million-litercapacitythatrepresentsacapabilitytoaddress80percentofCanada’sdemand.Inaddition,GCBThasdesignedtheMontrealfacilitytobeeasilyexpandableto2millionlitersifandwhenrequired.GCBTisstronglycommittedtocollaborationasakeyprincipletoensuretheCanadianhealth-caremarketisitsprimarymarketaswellasimplementingintegrationopportunitieswithhealthcareprovidersandpatientgroups.Inaddition,GCBTwillbringtoCanadaitsmostadvancedglobaltechnologiesandexpertiseaswellascontinuousinvestmentinR&DtodemonstratethatCanadaisaclusteropportunityforthedevelopmentandmarketopportunitiesofcoreproductssuchasplasmaderivatives,biologicsandvaccines.GreenCrosswillbeactivelypursuingcuresforrareandintractablediseasesasagloballeaderinhealthandourCanadianoperationwillbeengagedintheseprocesses.
GCBTiscommittedtoimprovingandupholdingstandardsofmanufacturingself-sufficiencythatwillreplacethecurrentmodelofsole-dependencyonimportsofplasmaproteinproductswithdomesticmanufacturing,resultinginanadditionalbenefitonthesecurityofastablesupplyofplasma-derivedproducts.
AtGCBT,weareactivelyworkingtoestablishkeyrelationships,partnershipsandenhancedconnectivitytothehealthcareindustryandlifesciencecluster.Wedrawexperiencesfromourinternationalmarketsandbringthisexpertisetoour
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relationshipswithgovernmentalagenciesandfuturediscussionswiththeprovinces.
TheFutureforGCBTinCanadaGreenCrossproactivelyplacedaNorthAmericanmarketoperationinCanadato,amongotherrationales,addresstheCanadianplasmaderivativessupplythatiscurrentlyexposedtorisks.TheserisksplacefinancialburdensonthehealthcaresystemgiventhereisnofractionationfacilityinCanadaandcostlyexportprocessesforplasmatotheUSand/orEurope.
GreenCrossisembracingtheirCanadianpresencebybeinganactivememberoftheCanadianinnovationandlifesciencescommunitysuchaspursuingpartnershipswithemergingbio-ventures,localuniversitiesandCanadianresearchinstitutes.
ConclusionGreenCrossembracesanopportunitytocontributetothegrowinginnovationcultureinCanadaandtheGovernmentofCanada’sprioritytocreateandfostereconomicgrowth.Ourpresencelocallyisintendedtoaddresskeypotentialsinthelifesciencesandhealth-caresectorswithdedicatedsupportforjobcreation,investmentandpartnershipsinplasmaderivativestoensurebettercapacityofdomesticsupply.AsCanadaisoneofthehighestpercapitausersofIVIGworldwide,wearedeliveringleadershipthroughphysicalinfrastructureandinvestmentsinresearchanddevelopmenttosupportourhealth-caresystem,exportindustryandjobcreation.Wearealsobringingourglobalnetworkofbestpractices,experienceandtalenttoCanadaforplasmafractionationinnovationtosupportthehealthcaresystemandpotentialpoolofinnovativemedicines.WeembracetheopportunitytobeanactiveparticipantinCanada’sInnovationAgendadialogueandcollaborativepartnerstoshareourstorytoCanadianentrepreneursandbusinesses.
