1. Why has the government of Ontario decided to target brain disease this year?

In 2015, for the first time in its history, Canada will have more people aged 65 and older than those under age 15. By 2031 there will be nine million seniors in Canada, accounting for 25% of the total population. This dramatic demographic shift will be a major force driving the neurotechnology industry.

With an estimated $300 billion global market for treating brain diseases, Ontario is well-positioned with its concentration of world-class research institutions and scientists to spin off companies that will develop innovative therapeutic treatments for neurological disorders.

At BIO 2010 in Chicago, MRI is focussing on Ontario’s strengths in neuroscience and fighting brain disease. Ontario is the third largest biotechnology cluster in North America and the largest in Canada, with 43,000 people employed at some 850 companies, which generate approximately $14 billion in revenues annually.

This strategy is consistent with Open Ontario, a new 5-year plan to create new opportunities for jobs and growth. Part of this plan includes making innovation a driving force in the Ontario economy.

That’s why we’re supporting scientific excellence and building the world-class innovation ecosystem needed to turn our world-class research, ideas, discoveries and breakthroughs into new business, new partnerships, new health treatments and the kind of future we want in Ontario. And it’s why we are focusing our support in the high-growth life sciences sector.

Key to MRI’s approach is our new Life Sciences Commercialization Strategy. It is aimed at helping Ontario become known as “The Go-To Place” for innovative, multi-national pharmaceutical and advanced health technologies firms looking to source new technologies, and to test promising new therapies.

Our Strategy will fold existing MRI life sciences initiatives into a comprehensive new plan — allowing for better coordination, and to help position Ontario as one of the world’s best bio-clusters. It will have four fundamental pillars:

• Nurturing / Attraction of Scientific Excellence and Talent
• Strategic Engagement with Industry and Academia
• Financing, and
• International Marketing and Investment Attraction.

As part of our focus on neuroscience at BIO Chicago this year, we will be hosting a Virtual Brain Symposium to promote Ontario’s world leading research initiative “Building a Virtual Brain” led by Baycrest.

2. Are specific brain diseases being targeted? If so, why?

We are taking a broader approach, targeting the genetics, imaging and stem cell research that can help lead us to treatment for brain diseases that can occur at every stage of life.

With Ontario’s Innovation Agenda, we are focussed on discovering new ways to treat disease. Ontario has the largest hub of biomedical activity in Canada and the fourth largest biomedical research centre in North America with over 25 globally recognized health research institutes.

By targeting investment toward areas where Ontario already is a global leader, and by building on our greatest strength — the talent and ingenuity of our people — Ontario is harnessing innovation to ensure our economy is one of the winning economies of the 21st century.

3. How does the government plan to support researchers/companies? What kind of investment will the government make (specifics, dollar amounts if possible) and what kind of projects are planned?

MRI’s research funding programs, like the Ontario Research Fund, support leading-edge research in all areas of brain research.

The province continues to invest in large-scale research infrastructure projects and the operating costs of research to ensure that Ontario’s leadership in these areas continues.

Worth noting is the Ontario Research Fund’s $100-million Global Leadership Round in Genomics and Life Sciences GL2. GL2 focuses on globally-significant, collaborative research projects that are led by Ontario researchers. This fund is creating high-skilled jobs in research and technology, and brings Ontario’s commitment to funding science since 2003 to a historic high of $1.3 billion.

Focused on genomics and gene-related research, the fund aims to accelerate new knowledge that could lead to cures, better treatment and prevention for diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease. It will also support innovation in agriculture, environmental protection and clean technologies. The minimum support provided by the GL2 to a project is $3.5 million.

4. Does brain disease have a significant impact on the economy in Ontario?

Currently the financial burden to Ontario of brain related diseases and disorders (many of which are aging-related) is estimated to be $39 billion annually, with approximately $7.5 billion in direct costs to our health care system.

Ontario already spends more than 40% of its annual budget on the delivery of health care services, and our aging population will place an increasing strain on the province to manage a growing burden of chronic disease.

For example, according to World Health Organization projections, the North American burden of disease related to neuropsychiatric disorders (which includes Alzheimer’s and other dementias, as well as mental health/depression disorders) will increase by over 50% between 2008 and 2030.

5. Where in Ontario are the major centres for brain disease research that you may be supporting?

Since 2003, the Ontario government has invested more than $99 million in 166 brain research projects across the province. There is incredible research happening quite literally across the province.

We’ve invested $11.7 million at the Hospital for Sick Children, where two centres were established: one for the Investigation of Neuroplasticity and Developmental Disorders and the other for the Study of Complex Childhood Diseases. The centres offer researchers an extensive combination of resources: imaging, molecular and behavioural research facilities in addition to access to large clinical populations. The discoveries that emerge from the research will help shape new treatments for conditions such as epilepsy, brain tumours, strokes or brain injury due to accidents.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is working on methods to treat mental illnesses like schizophrenia and mood disorders, where MRI has invested $5.3 million since 2003.

We’ve invested almost $25 million at The University of Western Ontario to build a top neuroimaging centre, where researchers are learning more about neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

There is also cutting-edge memory research happening at the Baycrest Centre, where we’ve invested over $10 million in its Brain Fitness Centre. (In January 2009 an international panel led by Dr. Robert Knight, director of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, ranked Baycrest among the world’s best in the field of aging-brain studies.)

6. Are there any specific researchers or teams that have made particularly large steps forward in their area of expertise that you may be supporting?

The Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CRND) at the University of Toronto for example, is at the forefront of research for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and prion diseases. Under the leadership of neurologist and molecular geneticist Dr. Peter St George-Hyslop, CRND has made important breakthroughs in research that have substantially advanced the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and has been a catalyst in attempts to generate new treatments and diagnostics.

Another good example of Ontario’s leadership in neuroimaging is the Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping (CFMM) at the Robarts Research Institute. CFMM conducts in vivo studies of brain structure and function by utilizing state-of-the art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems such as the Varian 7T, the most powerful magnet of its kind in Canada.

Mount Sinai Hospital's Dr. Andras Nagy discovered a new method of creating stem cells that could lead to possible cures for devastating diseases including spinal cord injury, macular degeneration, diabetes and Parkinson's disease. The study, published by Nature, accelerates stem cell technology and provides a road map for new clinical approaches to regenerative medicine.