About Health Emergency Readiness Canada
Health Emergency Readiness Canada takes a new approach to ensuring that Canada has the industrial capabilities necessary to protect Canadians against future public health threats by centralizing efforts and resources.
Working closely with other Government of Canada departments, including Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Emergency Readiness Canada supports the growth of a vibrant and innovative domestic life sciences sector. It promotes a culture of scientific and industrial innovation to strengthen Canada’s readiness to face the most pressing health emergency priorities. In order to achieve this, Health Emergency Readiness Canada builds and maintains strong partnerships with industry, academia, provincial and territorial governments, and international counterparts.
Health Emergency Readiness Canada aims to ensure that Canada has the innovation and industrial capacity to respond to health emergencies. It supports the development and production of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostic tools relevant to public health needs through continued investments in life-saving discoveries and technologies.
Health Emergency Readiness Canada seeks to build a modern and diversified industrial life sciences sector and support a pipeline of cutting-edge medical countermeasures (MCMs) that can meet Canada’s current public health needs and respond to future health emergencies.
By helping grow the life sciences ecosystem, Health Emergency Readiness Canada will contribute to Canada’s economic growth, create good jobs, and increase Canada’s contributions to the development of the next generation of medicines.
Health Emergency Readiness Canada is currently being established, with more details to come on its functions and sector supports operations and programming.
Interim Head
Ritu Banerjee
Investing in MCM readiness will result in strengthened health security for Canadians through a vibrant life sciences sector that is equipped to bring made-in-Canada innovations to market to address domestic and global health challenges.
For Canadians, this means the possibility of faster access to the most relevant and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, including when they need them the most – during a health crisis.
By improving and investing in MCM readiness, Canada will position itself to more effectively meet the needs of Canadians across a wide range of possible future health emergencies.
On a global scale, international partners recognize the importance of MCM access and continue to work together to ensure global pandemic preparedness. Health Emergency Readiness Canada works with global partners to advance innovative solutions for worldwide pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
Health Emergency Readiness Canada works closely with its Government of Canada partners to support the development of MCMs and related technologies that are relevant to the highest priority public health threats. Health Emergency Readiness Canada is committed to defining its goals and objectives jointly between the ISED and Health portfolios, in collaboration with other organizations that are implicated in health security matters.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Health Emergency Readiness Canada is unique in its ability to integrate program and policy decision-making that spans the Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) and Health portfolios. Located within ISED, Health Emergency Readiness Canada leverages the department’s programs, services, support tools and expertise in fostering innovation, supporting science and research, building relationships with private sector companies, stimulating sector growth, developing pathways to commercialization and attracting investment.
Health Canada and the Public Health Agency Canada
Both Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada work closely with Health Emergency Readiness Canada to support its mission and mandate. This includes jointly establishing the agency’s strategic goals and supporting health emergency response based on nationally identified priority threats and industrial market intelligence.
National Research Council Canada
The National Research Council also plays an important role in achieving Health Emergency Readiness Canada’s mandate by supporting R&D through its own programs and research facilities. The NRC’s Clinical Trial Materials Facility accelerates biologics development in Canada and bridges the gap between biomanufacturing research and commercial production.
Other Federal Partners
Health Emergency Readiness Canada works with a wide range of additional Government of Canada partners to support its mandate, including through its governance and oversight bodies. This includes:
Your questions and comments are important to us. Please contact Health Emergency Readiness Canada through one of the methods listed below.
ised-isde@ised-isde.gc.ca
Phone
Telephone (toll-free in Canada): 1-800-328-6189
Telephone (Ottawa): 613-954-5031
Fax: 343-291-1913
TTY (for hearing impaired): 1-866-694-8389
Business hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Mailing address
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
C.D. Howe Building
235 Queen St, 4th Floor
Ottawa ON K1A 0H5
Canada
Original source here.