In conversation with Matt Buist

Matt Buist was recently named an “Outstanding Canadian Business Leader in the Life Sciences” by the Canadian Biotechnology handbook.  And it’s no wonder.  After 15 years as the day-to-day coordinator of the Toronto Biotechnology Initiative (BTI) and, more recently, Life Sciences Ontario (LSO) through his role as manager of business development, medical and biotechnology, for the City of Toronto, Mr. Buist has seen first-hand how industry and government must mesh.  In this exclusive interview with biotuesdays.com, Mr. Buist expands on the changes he has seen in his multi-faceted career as an industry booster.

You began your career in industry not government.

I’m very proud of the 22 years I spent at Baxter Canada. My engineering and technical background led me into sales and marketing of analytical instruments and diagnostic supplies, which became a $30 million business for Baxter Canada.  I received an offer in 1993 from the regional government of the City of Toronto to join their economic development team to manage the medical and biotechnology sectors.  I figured it would be a three-year job, something to broaden my understanding of the medical industry, get involved with the different subsectors like medical research and Big Pharma, and then take that expanded knowledge back into industry.  It’s not that I couldn’t go back; it’s just that this job has opened up so many vistas for me and given me so much personal and professional satisfaction.

What was it like here in those early days?

The City of Toronto was one of the founding stakeholders of TBI in 1989.  Our mandate in those early years was on networking, mainly through a monthly breakfast meeting.  We brought together people with like interests in biotech, so we could find out what each of us was doing and what possible opportunities there were for partnership.

My work through TBI keeps me in front of key decision-makers.  It keeps me apprised of the issues and opportunities that executives face in their day-to-day roles.  And what we, as a regional government, can do to help build a community and an environment that is conducive to growth.  What we want to avoid is putting up barriers that would impede their development.  This is really important for Toronto if we want to develop our city as an innovative community.

What are some of the advantages of being based in Toronto?

Many of our younger companies have emerged out of tech transfers from the University of Toronto and our hospitals.  In the Discovery District of the city, companies are very close to Bay Street, with its investment bankers and venture capital money; its IP, regulatory and corporate lawyers; and all the other consultants biotech companies require on an ongoing basis.  All of these ingredients necessary to prosper and grow are here in Toronto: access to money, access to facilities and access to employment opportunities.

How has TBI evolved?

Our monthly breakfast meetings are still an important part of our programming.  We expanded into supporting an education component.  It’s still focused very much at the high school level to reach promising young scientific students.  We endeavour to help them with the university courses they should follow and give them a reason to stay involved with science.  One of my early projects was the Sanofi Aventis Biotechnology Challenge.  It started out as a one-year competition to challenge the innovative thoughts of young scientific students.  It captured everyone’s enthusiasm, and now, a decade and a half later, it’s still going strong and has expanded to 14 other cities in Canada.

Advocacy and lobbying with things TBI originally stayed clear of. We didn’t feel that was our role.  Now, the message is that, yes, we need someone who can support us in that role, so advocacy on behalf of industry needs and government relations has been a very new strategic plan for TBI.

This year TBI added Life Sciences Ontario to its title.

TBI has been developing a strategic plan for the last year to support all life science stakeholders in the province rather than just biotech in the GTA.  Our plan and the resulting name change to LSO were approved by the membership, which numbers around 400-plus, at our annual general meeting earlier this summer.  The name change came about from a need and desire to transition TBI into a larger organization, representing the interests of all of Ontario’s life sciences community.  Under the LSO brand, the organization will strive to better serve its membership and reposition itself as an association with a defined province-wide interest in life science policy.  The organization will also provide focused policy advice to governments and work to help the government of Ontario market the province as a leading biotech jurisdiction.  TBI will be a division of LSO and its activities will focus on our core membership in the GTA and support their needs for networking, mentoring, education, communications and awareness.

How would you describe LSO’s vision?

As companies and stakeholders look for a definitive voice in the life sciences arena in Ontario, they will look to LSO, not only for the directions and resolutions to public policy issues, but also to be the conduit between the many organizations in Ontario and the governments that operate in our space.  LSO will work in concert with life science companies and organizations to grow the sector in Ontario and maintain our position on the global arena.  LSO will maintain its status of no government funding and will continue to grow through its value proposition to members, stakeholders and governments.  We will complement, not compete with, the work of our stakeholders. LSO events are targeted to specific stakeholders groups and are “must attend”.  Organizations will want to partner with LSO due to its commitment to the sector and its ability to deliver.

How would you describe the economic impact of life sciences on Ontario?

In biotechnology and life sciences, for every one job you create, it’s understood that six or seven jobs will spin out in law firms, consulting, equipment and other services down the line.  We have anecdotal evidence that Ontario has survived the global recession and biotechnology has emerged stronger than in any other community.  There were many more company closures in Québec and British Columbia, for instance, than in Ontario.

Do you ever envision Ontario making life sciences public policy like it is in Québec?

There has been a lot of life sciences activity at Queen’s Park.  But there’s a lot more that needs to be done.  For many years, the government was investing extremely heavily in R&D at our universities and research institutions, and the expectation was that, if you invested in the research, the companies and the jobs would automatically follow.  But it didn’t happen fast enough.  Now, there is very much recognition at Queen’s Park that that you have to support not only the research, but also the infrastructure and programming that will help young companies grow.  I do envision the day that Queen’s Park makes life sciences public policy as Québec has done.  We’re working towards it. It’s very much in our mandate.

In the long run, what does LSO hope to accomplish?

Our goal is to have a fully integrated industry for life sciences in this province.  We already have the research base and the emerging company base.  What we want now is to have established world leaders here.  We want to have another Sanofi Pasteur in the province— a company that has established its products and manufacturing—and be recognized as a commercial provider of life sciences drugs and services.

There is still a great need for money.  Companies today need more money for the development phase.  And there’s a great need for skilled businessmen, scientists and engineers that would allow these companies to grow.  And you need a breakthrough technology.  In the past, when there was a failure, it reverberated through the entire sector. It doesn’t do that anymore.  Investment markets, despite their misgivings at the moment with anything to do with high-tech, have a lot more confidence that the sector as a whole will continue to survive and indeed grow.  That’s why I think the best is yet to come.  Despite the hump we’re going through, I think we’ll climb out of this slowly.  And the industry will achieve the goals that we expect and the promises they’ve made.

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Matt Buist Title: Manager, Business Development, Medical & Biotechnology, City of Toronto, Economic Development Division; Vice President, Life Sciences Ontario (LSO) Born: March 3, 1946 in Rhostyllen, N. Wales, U.K. Education: University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, Electronic Engineering Career Highlights: Marine Electronics Engineer, Marconi International Marine; U.K. Sales and Marketing Management, Baxter Corporation, Canada; Manager, Business Development, Medical & Biotechnology, City of Toronto; Vice President and Director, The Biotechnology Initiative (TBI) and Life Sciences Ontario (LSO)

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