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TO Health! Announces its Evolution and Summit to make Toronto Region Cluster Top 5 in 10

On February 24, TO Health!’s inaugural Top 5 in 10 Summit will connect business leaders, academics, elected officials and policy makers from across the Toronto region.

TORONTO, Feb. 2, 2016 /CNW/ –TO Health! today announced its evolution and strategy to raise the profile of the Toronto Region Human Health and Sciences (HHS) cluster. The vision of the initiative is to make the Toronto region a Top 5 global health science cluster in the next 10 years.

With the support of its founding partner, Toronto Region Board of Trade, TO Health! became an independently governed promotion organization as of January 1, 2016. MaRS Discovery District is providing the legal and administrative functions for the initiative in 2016 as an in-kind contribution.

“Though we have all the right components, Toronto region’s HHS cluster remains below the global radar as a top place to attract businesses, talent and investment,” said Dr. Barry McLellan, President & CEO, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. “Our goal is more investment, more jobs and more healthcare innovation getting to commercialization and scale up.”

“Creating ecosystems where members of the same industry can collaboratively bring innovation to market faster is becoming increasingly important, particularly in Health, where there are opportunities to improve outcomes,” added Paul Lepage, President, TELUS Health.

The Toronto region is home to the largest geographic concentration of health sciences assets in Canada, with more than 38,000 jobs and strong connections to global centres of health science expertise.

“We are excited about the opportunity to work with TO Health! to drive health innovation in the region,” said Dianne Carmichael, Managing Director, Health Venture Services, MaRS. “Toronto’s thriving Human Health Sciences cluster has incredible potential for growth and investment.”

TO Health! is an industry-led public private partnership, with its strategic initiatives funded by municipal partners, the City of Toronto and the City of Brampton as well as many private sector partners including Telus Health, Medtronic Canada, Pfizer Canada, Astra Zeneca, BD CanadaLife Labs, Northern Biologics and the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM).

A CEO-level HHS committee, co-chaired by Paul Lepage and Barry McLellan, will direct the execution of the initiative’s 3-year strategic plan. Members of the HHS committee include multinational organizations, innovative companies and public institutions who form the region’s HHS cluster.

The initiative will also bring together the Toronto region’s HHS cluster on February 24, 2016, for its inaugural Summit: Top 5 in 10. The Summit will connect business leaders, academics, elected officials and policy makers from across the Toronto region to share success stories and discuss how to collaboratively build the profile of this important cluster, which holds incredible potential as an economic driver locally and nationally.

“We are delighted to continue to support TO Health! in their efforts to attract more businesses to our region and drive job creation opportunities for our residents,” said Jan De Silva, President & CEO, Toronto Region Board of Trade. “The Top 5 in 10 Summit will enable us to better tell our story locally while providing a platform to take our cluster to the next level globally.”

To date, TO Health! Top 5 in 10 Summit includes:

  • Opening address by Paul Lepage on building the cluster’s global profile
  • Addresses by Deputy Minister Bob Bell and other provincial and municipal political leaders
  • David Rawlings, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Canada on the Global Cities Initiative and what that means for the Toronto region
  • Panels featuring industry veterans and regional leaders
  • A unifying call to action

For more information on the Top 5 in 10 Summit and TO Health! visit http://www.tohealth.ca.

About TO Health! (www.tohealth.ca, @TOHealthToronto)
TO Health! is an industry-led promotion cooperative focused on raising the profile of the Toronto region’s Human Health & Sciences (HHS) cluster. TO Health! actively promotes and builds profile for the entire Toronto region HHS cluster by highlighting its strengths and successes and recognizing industry leaders within the cluster. TO Health! also assists groups with their own promotional outreach through TO Health! brand affiliation and resources, which can be used to powerfully present the region as a highly attractive place to live, work and invest.

About the Toronto Region Board of Trade (www.bot.com)
Founded in 1845, Toronto Region Board of Trade is the chamber of commerce for Canada’s largest urban centre, connecting more than 12,000 members and 250,000 business professionals and influencers throughout the Toronto region. The Board fuels the economic, social and cultural vitality of the entire Toronto region by fostering powerful collaborations among business, government, thought leaders, and community builders. Toronto Region Board of Trade plays a vital role in elevating the quality of life and global competitiveness of Canada’s largest urban centre. Learn more at www.bot.com and follow us at @TorontoRBOT.

About MaRS Discovery District
MaRS Discovery District (@MaRSDD) in Toronto is the one of the world’s largest urban innovation hubs. MaRS supports promising young ventures tackling key societal challenges in the health, cleantech and ICT sectors. In the last three years, these ventures have raised $1.3 billion in capital and earned $640 million in revenue. In addition to helping startups launch, grow and scale, the MaRS community is dedicated to cross-disciplinary collaboration, commercialization of discoveries and driving ideas to impact. MaRS Health supports over 250 Ontario-grown health technology startups with connections to capital and help navigating the regulatory and procurement systems in Canada and abroad.

For further information:

Ella Korets-Smith, Executive Director, TO Health!, Ella.korets-smith@tohealth.ca, 416-836-1777;

Matthew Kofsky, Toronto Region Board of Trade,mkofsky@bot.com, 416-862-4558