Canada’s R&D Pharmaceutical Sector – A Key Partner in Economic Resilience, Recovery, and Growth
Ottawa, June 6, 2023 – Recently released Statistics Canada data demonstrates the economic impact of the innovative research and development (R&D) pharmaceutical sector in Canada. In 2020 alone, the sector supported over 107,000 high-value full-time jobs, generated close to $16 billion in economic activity, and invested $2.4 billion in R&D.
This data highlights the limitations of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board’s (PMPRB) ongoing use of an outdated 1987 Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax definition as a measure of domestic R&D. The PMPRB definition does not include many important contributions, including industry partnerships with hospitals and universities and investments in biotechnology startups – organizations which collectively carry out a significant portion of life sciences R&D in Canada today. Based on Statistics Canada data, Canada’s innovative pharmaceutical industry has an R&D-to-sales ratio of between 7.7 per cent and 10 per cent, more than twice the ratio reported by the PMPRB.