Research Areas

The CHBMR's primary goals are to perform collaborative scholarly and market-oriented research on the Canadian health system and biotech sectors to benefit these sectors and support their growth. The current areas of research include: industry sector and cluster research, market, regulatory and risk management research, drug reimbursement systems research, and health equity research.  

Cluster analysis and evaluation

The CHBMR aims to highlight industry trends in many areas, and conducts primary research in cluster analysis. In 2009, the CHBMR completed research on the bioscience cluster in PEI in collaboration with Dr. Steven Casper,  Director, Bioscience Program, Keck Graduate Institute. Following this initiative, the CHBMR, along with Dr. Casper, will continue to research the development of additional bioscience clusters. In addition, the CHBMR is collaborating with Dr. Wendy Carroll, Associate Professor and Director, Labour Force Research Group at UPEI to examine HR issues in bioscience clusters.

Market research, regulatory, and risk management

Additional areas of research or services include pipeline and portfolio management, market research, regulatory research and research on the topic of risk management. Such relevant data and evaluations are necessary for government policy and decision-making. It is also clear that in today's competitive marketplace, research-based drug and biotech companies must not only maintain their focus on R&D efficiency and output, but they must also retain their ability to adjust to a rapidly changing and highly volatile economic environment. For these purposes, it is necessary to collect, analyze and evaluate data to document the current status of biotech and biopharmaceutical innovation and explore the economic, regulatory, competitive, and political challenges and opportunities which the biotechnology industry faces on an ongoing national and international basis.

Drug reimbursement systems

The CHBMR is currently collaborating on research projects with TUFT’s CSDD on topics relating to United States and Canada’s drug reimbursement systems.

Health and drug policy research

The CHBMR is investigating various health policy areas, including, for example, health inequity amongst provincial drug formularies in Canada. The CHBMR is also researching the amount of time to obtain drug approval and the length of time to have the same drug approved for provincial drug formularies. This particular study will also compare and contrast the timelines of the same drugs going through America's regulatory agencies.

HR and Labour Workforce Research

The CHBMR is collaborating with the UPEI Workforce Strategies Research Group to complete HR and labour workforce research in the Canadian biotechnology sector. During the summer of 2010, research will be conducted to investigate the relationship between leadership and human resource management.

Please contact the CHBMR for more information on our research programs, or if you are interested in finding out more about collaborating with the CHBMR.