Working with public and private sectors, government and academia, PEI BioAlliance creates structures and strategies to grow the bioscience industry in the province. “To succeed, every partner involved has to feel part of something bigger than themselves”, says Rory Francis, Executive Director. It’s easy to see why.

The video is playing. This video is playing in mini-player mode.

 

With the goal of creating a new economy that attracts and retains young people and provides opportunities for them to have fulfilling, challenging careers in the industry, PEI BioAlliance is focused on the big picture. On building brainpower and infrastructure, educational pathways and financial access, to help nascent companies execute their business strategies and scale their companies – all in PEI.

And they’re succeeding. PEI has grown from 10 bioscience companies 15 years ago to more than 60 today; 500 private sector employees to 1900; and $50 million in sales as an industry to $250 million, with incredible success stories like BioVectra, Island Abbey Foods, and Somru.

What comes next? Expanding infrastructure including a new 20,000 sqft manufacturing facility for companies to lease as they grow and a 50,000 sqft scale-up and incubator facility including cutting edge bioprocessing equipment for students to train on. And growing local bioscience education offerings including in bioscience technology, veterinary sciences and even sustainable design engineering.

“We’re looking at questions, like ‘how many more businesses can we reach?’ and ‘how can we double in size again?’,” says Rory. “While making sure everyone shares the credit and the rewards.”

Further reading

To succeed, every partner involved has to feel part of something bigger than themselves.


Rory Francis
Executive Director, BioAlliance

 

Interested in finding out more?

Are you interested in finding out more about our Faces of a Vibrant Community project, or know of a community that you think should be featured? If so, please reach out to us via the form below!

For more Faces of a Vibrant Community, visit our hub.