Life Sciences Newsbrief – October 2011, Issue #36

Welcome to PwC’s monthly issue of the Life Sciences Newsbrief. This publication provides you with a snapshot of developments in the Canadian and global life sciences industry along with upcoming Canadian events and thought leadership. If you need further information, please contact any of the life sciences professionals listed on the right.

Thought Leadership

Rewarding innovation: Improving federal tax support for business R&D in Canada
Business innovation is key to a creating a highly productive Canadian economy. One concern is that Canadian businesses have relatively low levels of business research and development (R&D), despite access to some of the world’s most generous R&D tax subsidies.

In this paper, PwC’s Mark Parsons examines the impact of the federal R&D tax credit, and proposes tax options aimed at improving Canada’s innovation performance. He proposes that Canada’s best bet is to focus on creating a competitive tax system across the entire innovation value chain.

Click here to read Mark’s article and find out more.

Bending the Cost Curve: Emerging International Best Practices
November 15-16, Singapore
The Global Healthcare marquee symposium series is coming to the East Cluster. The next meeting of Bending the Cost Curve will take place in Singapore, November 15-16, 2011. The summit will bring together 30 CEOs and senior healthcare leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region for an in-depth discussion surrounding five case studies: public private partnerships; mobile health; ageing; biocluster development; and consumer-led health reform.

The proceedings report from Bending the Cost Curve (Amsterdam) is now available. You can download it by clicking here.

The Jenkins Report: Innovation Canada: A Call to Action
The Independent Panel on Federal Support to Research and Development released The Jenkins Report: Innovation Canada: A Call to Action on Monday October 17, 2011. The report provides advice in respect of the effectiveness of federal programs to support business and commercially oriented R&D, the appropriateness of the current mix and design of these programs, as well as possible gaps in the current suite of programs and what might be done to fill them."

Read PwC's overview and listen to our podcast episode on the report here.

Events

12th Annual Pharmaceutical Regulatory and Compliance Congress
November 2-4, Washington, DC
PwC is a sponsor for this compliance event for the pharma industry. PwC’s David J. Wysocky, director, Global Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Practice, and Jonathon Kellerman, partner, Global Pharmaceutical Advisory Services Group, will speak.

CBI’s Interactions with Thought Leaders and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) Forum
November 3-4, Philadelphia, PA
PwC’s Michael McNeal will speak on aggregate spending at the forum. This year’s theme is “Maximize KOL Engagement Across the Organization while Ensuring Compliance.”

Strategic Resource and Portfolio Management
November 8-10, Philadelphia, PA
Learn about resource management, portfolio management, R&D and commercial strategies at this event. PwC is a conference sponsor.

CBI’s 2nd Annual West Coast Life Sciences Compliance Congress
November 14-15, San Francisco, CA
PwC is a sponsor of this event. This year’s theme is "Mitigate Fraud and Abuse in an Active Enforcement Environment.”

6th Annual Pharmaceutical Tax and Transfer Pricing Congress
November 14-15, Philadelphia, PA
Attend this conference to learn strategies concerning tax optimization, IRS compliance and transfer pricing planning. PwC’s Mike Swanickand and Bill Kraft will speak at the event.