Our purpose
Why the Academy exists
It takes 15 to 20 years for a new medical discovery to reach patients. Most never make it.
The translation challenge
Where discoveries get stuck
Discoveries usually get stuck at one of 2 points. People in the field call these the “valleys of death.”
Between the lab and testing in people
Research stalls here when there isn’t enough funding or evidence, or when the regulatory steps are unclear.
Between approval and the patient
A treatment can be approved as safe and effective and still not reach patients, because no one has agreed to pay for it or the health system isn’t ready to use it.
When discoveries stall, they often have to be reworked, which costs time and money. Some are abandoned. Others move to other countries, taking jobs, investment, and patient benefits with them.
Our philosophy
A different approach: plan backwards
The Academy helps innovators plan from the finish line back to the start.
Before a trial is designed, the Academy helps answer the questions that decide whether a discovery will reach patients:
Who will pay for it, and why?
What proof will regulators and health systems need?
How should the clinical trial be set up to provide that proof?
When innovators know the answers early, they avoid costly surprises later. Patients get access to new treatments sooner, and discoveries made in Canada are more likely to stay in Canada.
The Academy works across all areas of health, including drugs, medical devices, diagnostic tests, and digital health tools.
Connected expertise
How the Academy works
The Academy has 3 parts that work together.
Translational Platform
Researchers and companies can bring their discovery to the Academy. A team of experts helps them plan each step: approval, evidence, payment, and how the innovation will fit into everyday care.
Regulatory Science Lab
The lab studies how health systems decide what to approve and pay for. It creates the methods and models the Academy uses in its work, tests whether current policies are working, and recommends improvements.
Training and Workforce Development
The Academy offers workshops, courses, and micro-credentials that teach people the skills Canada’s life sciences sector needs.
Each part makes the others stronger. Real cases show the lab what problems to study. The lab’s research improves the advice innovators receive. And both feed into training for the next generation of professionals.
A different approach
What makes the Academy different
- Experts in approval and experts in payment work side by side on the same team. In most places, these groups work separately.
- The Academy helps innovators think about payment from the very beginning. Few organizations in Canada offer this.
- The Academy knows how decisions get made at every level of Canada’s health system, and works with Health Canada, Canada’s Drug Agency, and INESSS.
- The Academy has health data on 342,000 patients, so its analysis reflects Canadian patients and costs.
- As part of UBC’s Faculty of Medicine, the Academy is close to leading researchers making new discoveries every day.
Our impact
The Academy so far
$11.3M
In total funding
57
Peer-reviewed publications
174
Micro-credentials awarded
342K
Patients in data holdings
Find your place at the Academy