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Bringing decades of agricultural research to market
Forty-four percent of Canada’s cultivated farmland is located in Saskatchewan, producing more than $5 billion a year in crop-based agriculture and food exports. So it is no wonder that Saskatoon has long been a centre of advanced agricultural biotechnology.
A dynamic research and industrial community has developed in Saskatoon over the past 25 years that includes the NRC, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the University of Saskatchewan, the Innovation Place research park, and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, among many others.
Much of the cluster's infrastructure is located within the University of Saskatchewan and Innovation Place campuses, with significant resources also residing at NRC’s Plant Biotechnology Institute (NRC-PBI). As part of the Saskatoon cluster initiative, NRC’s Crops for Enhanced Human Health (CEHH) and Plants for Health and Wellness (PHW) programs have invested $15 million in the region.
Commercialization and technology transfer
CEHH and PHW have focused on building the cluster’s research capacity in the area of natural products and also on helping local companies commercialize plant-derived products and platforms. The programs have yielded 18 patents and six technology licenses — vehicles that industry will use to bring new products to market.
The BioAccess Commercialization Centre, a not-for-profit organization funded by NRC’s cluster initiative and run by Presagio Technology Group, has worked with more than 60 client firms over the last three years. It has provided competitive and market intelligence, regulatory advice, online tools to guide small companies through the commercialization of nutraceutical and natural health products, and other mentoring services.
Partnerships and collaborations
At present, NRC-PBI has 11 active cluster related collaborative agreements with Canadian and international partners. Some project activities within these agreements are the identification of plant metabolic pathways, the development of plant production platforms for pharmaceutical and high-value compounds, and the analysis of chemical and fatty acid profiles of plant material. Examples of PBI’s cluster partners include Prairie Plant Systems and InfraReady Products Limited.
As well NRC’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) has been a key cluster partner for many firms, serving clients by contributing expert business advice and funding. As an example, a $139,000 NRC-IRAP contribution enabled one of the cluster partners to increase its production capacity from $500,000 to $900,000 a month by advancing and optimizing its technical capabilities.
International networks and linkages
The Saskatoon cluster is well connected internationally, with NRC-PBI actively pursuing partnerships abroad. An agreement with the Department of Biotechnology of India has led to three major collaborative projects—related to canola, pulse crops and flax—that are highly relevant to the Saskatoon cluster.
PBI also works closely with many US-based firms applying technologies to products. Projects include producing fine chemicals for the pharmaceutical and agriculture sectors, developing novel, plant-derived oils for health and industrial uses, and developing new cultivars specifically adapted to exhibit specific traits.
Other international research partnerships include major initiatives with China, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Learn more about Saskatoon’s Plants for Health and Wellness technology cluster
Fact sheet available in HTML or PDF version.
Related Information
NRC Plant Biotechnology Institute (NRC-PBI)
