Something I've heard a few of times at the BIO conference here in Boston is that it is a place where Canadians congregate.  We live in a big country and for many companies it is easier to meet up with other companies at a major gathering like BIO than it is to crisscross Canada.

One of the people I caught up with is Chris Gardner, CEO of Sequence Bio. I talked to him 2 years ago about his company's plan to better understand the unique genetic makeup of his home province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The proposed study will also look for patterns and genetic  changes that could help identify opportunities to develop new, more effective medicines. 
The effort has not been without its challenges however. The regulatory process has stalled the plans and part of the effort may actually start elsewhere.
I talked with Chris yesterday at BIO Boston.