I spent some time at the recent 2018 Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) International Convention in Boston and wanted to share some thoughts and important news about Janssen.

BIO always provides a great opportunity to network with professionals in life sciences research, policy and commercialization and hear about the latest trends in the global biotechnology industry, but this year stood out for me in two ways.

First, 2018 marked BIO’s 25th anniversary and because of that, a number of retrospectives looked back at the genesis of BIO and what the biotechnology sector looked like in 1992.

I was struck by the level of innovation that the industry has achieved. Personalized medicine, biologics, genomic sequencing; these breakthroughs were virtually non-existent just 25 years ago!

It reinforces why Janssen’s commitment to patients is vital and how we’ve evolved in Canada because of continued investments in innovation, particularly in Immunology, Oncology and Neuroscience.

Second – and what was the major highlight for this year’s Janssen delegation – was recognition of Janssen’s role in a public-private partnership with the Quebec government focused on real-world evidence (RWE).

The Partenariat Innovation Québec-Janssen, known as PIQ-J, was included in a roundup of initiatives announced by Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Gaetan Barrette. PIQ-J comprises Janssen Inc., the Ministère de l’Économie, Science et Innovation (MESI), the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) and Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS).

Highlighted within Quebec's life sciences strategy report, the Province is recognizing the important relationship between RWE and innovation stating that, “for innovations to be integrated into the health and social services network, it must be possible to assess them in depth in the actual healthcare process.”

The goal of PIQ-J is to fund research that looks at the impact of treatment on patients. Two projects have been identified by PIQ-J and calls for proposals will be announced in the coming months.

PIQ-J joins two other RWE-focused partnerships Janssen has established across Canada:

• In October 2017, Janssen announced a partnership with Memorial University of Newfoundland known as the Janssen and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Innovation Partnership (JANL-HIP). The partnership is currently examining psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients receiving conventional medicines versus biologic therapies.

• In September 2015, Janssen formed a partnership with Alberta Innovation and Advanced Education (now, Economic Development and Trade) and the University Hospital Foundation known as the Johnson & Johnson Alberta Health Innovation Partnership (JAHIP). JAHIP is focused on research projects in schizophrenia and prostate cancer.

As outlined in my previous blog, Janssen’s investments in RWE are central to our commitment to support the needs of patients through innovation and a strong life sciences sector in Canada. Working with healthcare stakeholders to obtain a better understanding of the impact and value of medicines to patients is a vital part of this commitment.

I’m sure in years to come at a future BIO conference, we’ll reflect on this valuable RWE data as another example of innovation from our industry on behalf of patients. I’m inspired knowing that we at Janssen are doing our part to make this happen.

Chris Halyk is President, Janssen Inc. (Canada), the pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson. Chris can be reached at [email protected]