Focus federal funding on best bets to boost biotech, Moderna co-founder says
OTTAWA — The Canadian co-founder of biotech firm Moderna says any federal plans to kick-start domestic innovation in a big way should target funding rather than spreading it around the country.
Canadian politicians have a track record of trying to be equitable with their funding pledges to hit every region of the country, while similarly being conservative in how they hand out innovation funding.
There is a political calculation behind that, but Derrick Rossi said that setting the country up for long-run growth — especially in biotech — will require putting money behind the best bets and localities for growth of new firms.
The Liberals promised during the campaign to put $2 billion in a new agency that would fund “moon shot” ideas that may not always work out, modelling it on a decades-old program housed in the U.S. Department of Defense.