For Immediate Release
December 15th, 2017
Mississauga Launches Life Sciences Consortium: Mayor Crombie
Mayor Crombie meets with business leaders during the launch of the new Economic Development Office Life Sciences Consortium.
Today’s launch of the Life Sciences Consortium is an important opportunity for the City of Mississauga’s Economic Development Office (EDO) to work closely with business leaders from this industry and to hear their ideas, strategies and solutions to strengthen Mississauga’s competitive advantage in the Life Sciences industry, Mayor Bonnie Crombie said today.
“In March, we launched the City’s new five-year Life Sciences Cluster Strategy,” Mayor Bonnie Crombie said. “The Strategy contains a series of objectives, with the first goal calling on us to Create Opportunities for Life Sciences Partnerships and Leadership,” Mayor Crombie added.
“To achieve and exceed the goals detailed in our Strategy, we have created this Consortium of thought leaders to guide our actions and ensure that ideas translate into results. This is why we are all here today.”
The Consortium will meet quarterly throughout the year. The following executive professionals have agreed to serve as members:
Having an official strategy in place gives local cluster stakeholders the opportunity to align their priorities and activities, Mayor Crombie said, adding that “which in turn, will help us be successful in achieving our strategic vision.”
“A competitive and thriving Life Sciences Sector leads to economic growth – and more importantly – enhanced patient care,” Mayor Crombie said. “We mean business when it comes to helping create the right environment for businesses to commercialize their innovative and cutting-edge ideas and reach targeted consumers.”
Mississauga’s Life Sciences Sector is ranked as the second largest by employment in Canada, home to 490 companies employing over 23,0000 people. Mississauga is one of the few Canadian municipalities to participate each year at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) International Convention – one of the largest global events for the biotechnology industry.
Trillium Health Partners operates two of its three hospitals in the City including – Credit Valley Hospital and Mississauga Hospital. Mississauga is one hour from Canada’s largest health network.
In 2016, the number of Life Sciences companies grew by 14% as new companies chose Mississauga as the destination to compete, commercialize and lead the competition.
Mayor Crombie added “Last year, we announced that Brazilian-based pharmaceutical giant – BioLab – chose Mississauga over other competitive cities – for its new research and development centre. I first met corporate leaders from BioLab in 2015 during an EDO investment mission to South America. In October, BioLab opened this new state-of-the-art facility. It’s a $56 million dollar investment that will create 40 new high-value added jobs.”
Mayor Crombie concluded “Council and staff look forward to working even closer with our partners in the Life Sciences industry to align our shared priorities for economic growth and opportunity.”
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