$36M research centre in the works.

Thunder Bay may be launching a Molecular Research Centre of Excellence based on scientific partnerships and team spirit.

A $6.6-million retrofit to the former Thunder Bay cancer clinic could generate about $36 million worth of cancer and cardiac based molecular research.

The 10-year-old, 54,000-square-foot, three-floor cancer centre located on Munro Street is expected to accommodate cancer, neuroscience and cardiac research. On the top level is wet lab space, while the middle floor is equipped with offices. Downstairs will house an animal lab along with a bone and tissue bank. This is a facility much needed by the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, says Michael Power, vice-president of regional cancer service and diagnostic imaging at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

"It is an example of where we are and where we need to go," he says.

The centre already has radiation bunkers used in cancer treatments.

An estimated 30 to 40 new jobs will come from organizations housed under the facility.

"We are sitting on this gem for a lot of very good reasons," since such a facility today would cost approximately $25 million to build, Power says.

Space within the facility is virtually spoken for.

A majority of the tenants will be taking part in an initiative exploring the fundamentals of the human structure through the $36 million Molecular Medicine Research Centre of Excellence (MMRCE). Researchers are hoping to identify markers in the molecular genome through new technology and the use of effective drug therapies to counteract cancers.

Pharmaceutical companies including Astra Zeneca Canada and Pharmacia & Upjohn have spent billions bringing drugs like the breast cancer-fighting Herceptin to market, while Siemens, Royal Philips Electronics and General Electric spend billions to "see the disease," through magnetic resonance imaging equipment, for example. From a research development perspective, each has approached cancer from opposite ends of the continuum, Power says.

But the world is changing. Big pharmas are partnering with imaging companies to see the disease, identify it at the cellular level and treat it.

"This truly is a revolution in health care."

Researchers today can watch tumours grow or shrink. Doctors can tailor drug therapies for each patient to ensure the best results, after all what works for one may not work for another.

"Wouldn't you want to know two hours or two days into the therapy that it didn't work versus six months?" Power says.

This kind of project catapults Thunder Bay to the front of the line. With only retrofitting to do in an existing facility, it allows companies and institutions to bring their cases to market quicker than their competitors.

Northwestern Ontario Technology Centre, the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Lakehead University, Northern Ontario School of Medicine and private companies including Genesis Genomics have been working alongside renowned scientists from Toronto's Sunnybrook & Women's Research Institute, and the University of Toronto. Together they are welcoming multinationals including Siemens, Phillips and General Electric to the table for private sector involvement.

Sunnybrook's vice president of research, Dr. Michael Julius, is hoping to take advantage of the space provided at Thunder Bay's former cancer clinic.

Southern Ontario is experiencing a population explosion and naturally this results in more cancer patients, but "cancer centres cannot treat their patients fast enough because they do not have the block radiation bunkers," Power says.

Radiation treatment rooms, or bunkers, are designed to contain highly penetrating radiation beams. While the patient under treatment is supposed to benefit from the radiation, caretakers or people occupying space beside the treatment must be protected from exposure.

Since Thunder Bay has the facility, equipped with bunkers, southern Ontario researchers won't have to wait long to bring their cases to the northwest for faster marketability/commercialization.

In order to attract key scientists, the city requires buy-in from the provincial and federal government, according to Power.

Federal and provincial agencies have been asked for $12 million over five years. The city will invest $5 million in that time, with private funding to follow.

By introducing MMRCE to the city, an estimated 600 direct jobs with salaries ranging from $80,000 to $120,000 and indirect jobs starting at $30,000 to $80,000 will be created, Power says.

While many of the jobs will be research-related, he says spin-off jobs could number in the thousands.

"There is $5 billion in Canada research funding, of which 82 per cent of these dollars go toward universities with medical schools," Power says.

The fact that Thunder Bay's research institutions have been fortunate enough to partner with a national leading-edge research institute like Sunnybrook is quite a coup and holds weight in the research community, Power says.

Once momentum begins, more opportunities will take seed, bringing more jobs to the city and increasing economic development, says Power.

After five years, Thunder Bay can wean off of Sunnybrook and become its own entity.

So, the emphasis "is all about the creation of knowledge," Power says.

www.normed.ca

www.tbrhsc.com

www.notc.on.ca

By KELLY LOUISEIZE

Northern Ontario Business