Introduction
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, commonly known as COVID-19, belongs to a family of viruses known as the Coronaviruses which cause respiratory illnesses.Endnote 2 There are two strains belonging to this group of viruses that have caused major outbreaks in the past: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).Endnote 3 As COVID-19 affects many nations on varying scales, governments across the globe are moving at an unprecedented scale in order to mitigate the most serious threats resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government of Canada has also been working with partners across the public and private sector to develop solutions to address the challenges presented by COVID-19. One such effort has been led by Canada's largest federal research and development (R&D) organization, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).Endnote 4 Through the creation of Challenge programs, the NRC is partnering with the private and the public sector, academic and other research organizations in Canada and internationally to advance transformative, high-risk, high-reward research that address Canadian priorities.Endnote 5
Of particular interest for this report is NRC's Pandemic Response Challenge Program, wherein the NRC received $15 million to form dedicated teams to address challenges in the areas of greatest R&D need in the fight against COVID-19. This Program brings together Canadian and international researchers to accelerate R&D aimed at specific COVID-19 gaps and challenges identified by Canada's health experts. Teams are built from government, universities, and Canadian business to accelerate the development of diagnostics tools and medical countermeasures for a rapid front-line response. This Challenge program is structured around the following three research areas:Endnote 6
- Therapeutics and Vaccine Development, which involves developing biologics and antibodies to counteract a disease in the critically ill.
- Rapid Detection and Diagnosis, which involves detecting and diagnosing the COVID-19 virus with advanced methodologies and sampling technologies based on molecular signatures.
- Digital Health, which leverages technology to assist in the delivery of healthcare. This includes developing low-cost, high-precision contactless sensor systems for widespread patient monitoring and personalized artificial-intelligence assistants to help remote and vulnerable populations, among other applications.
Not only will this report highlight Canadian innovation undertaken during prior outbreaks, both domestically and abroad, but will also identify institutions that have patented inventions related to pandemic mitigation technologies. The patent search strategy for this report has been developed in collaboration with our colleagues at NRC who have prior patent examination experience. This report presents the global patent landscape for this field, with an emphasis on the leading Canadian institutions, their area of expertise and their collaborations, as well as the regional clusters throughout the country where patent activity is concentrated.