While Canadian researchers are making incredible biomedical breakthroughs in labs across the country, our capacity to bring those medicines to patients and their health care teams is inefficient, complex and fragmented.

The challenges that currently shape Canada’s access environment are being  exacerbated by an increasingly unstable and competitive global marketplace.

The result?  Without new pathways, new investments and a new commitment to collaboration, too many Canadians will have too little access to breakthrough medicines available to patients in other countries around the world.

To deliver world-class care, Canada must align its life sciences ecosystem—from manufacturers and patient groups to policymakers. By harmonizing policy and funding strategies, we can improve equitable access to life-saving innovations for all Canadians. 

In this episode of From the Burgundy Chairs, Santis Health Senior Advisor Avis Favaro sits down with Dr. Bettina Hamelin, President & CEO of Innovative Medicines Canada. Their conversation focuses on a shared vision for the future: moving past old hurdles through meaningful partnership to support a thriving innovation economy and a healthier Canada.

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Dr. Bettina Hamelin, President & CEO, Innovative Medicines Canada

Dr. Bettina Hamelin, PharmD, EMBA, joined IMC in 2024 with over 30 years of experience in academia, industry, and not-for-profit organizations. Most recently, she served as President and CEO of Ontario Genomics, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to catalyzing and supporting the development of genomics- and engineering biology-based solutions across key sectors of the economy.

Prior to joining Ontario Genomics, Dr. Hamelin served as Vice President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) Research Partnerships Directorate, where she was responsible for encouraging public/private sector collaboration and technology transfer by connecting Canadian research enterprises to Canadian and global innovation partners. She also previously held positions of increasing responsibility in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, including leadership positions at BioChem Pharma and Pfizer, in addition to 10 years of academic research expertise as a tenured professor at Université Laval.

Dr. Hamelin is an active volunteer in the broader research and innovation community, serving as a Board Director at the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization and IRICoR, a centre of excellence in commercialization and research specialized in drug discovery. She also chairs the National Engineering Biology Steering Committee, serves on Ontario’s COVID-19 Genomics Network Steering Committee, is involved in several advisory committees, and is a Mentor at the Creative Destruction Lab, a global startup program for seed-stage, science-based companies.