Life Sciences & Healthcare Technologies
Sector Facts – York Region and the Toronto Area
- York Region is home to 300 local Bio-Pharma, Medical Devices and Healthcare Technology firms
- Global industry leaders operating in York Region including Teva, J&J, Apotex, Smiths, Drager, PerkinElmer, Alexion, Abbott, Olympus Medical, Nightingale Informatix and Cerner Canada
- Strategically located in the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), North America’s 3rd largest life sciences cluster by sector employment
- York Region is home to Ontario’s largest Local Health Network (LHIN) serving 1.8 million residents
- 25 of top 50 global pharma firms and 16 of top 25 global medical device firms, have Canadian HQ in the Toronto area
- Concentrated and diverse patient base; area population 6 million
- 60 vicinity hospitals including 12 research and 9 teaching hospitals
Area Workforce
- Toronto area’s Life Sciences sector employs more than 160,000 people – North America’s 3rd largest cluster by sector employment (City of Toronto)
- Toronto area’s workforce of 4 million is Canada’s largest and most concentrated (25% of total in Canada)
- 67% of York Region’s workforce have post-secondary education (vs. 51% Canada-wide; 37% in the U.S.; 27% in EU)
- Over 1/2 of York Region’s workforce with post-secondary education majored in Engineering, Information Sciences or Business Administration
- There are 80,000 bio-medical and 11,000 pharmaceutical jobs in the Toronto area
- 6 area medical schools and over 50 academic programs related to medical devices and biomedical engineering
- Connected to world’s fastest growing markets – 45% of York Region’s population is foreign born; over 70 languages spoken locally
- Toronto ranks as a city with one of the lowest degrees of overall staffing risk, globally (PwC 2012)
Business Costs
- York Region has the lowest commercial and industrial property taxes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) — 25% lower on average
- 11% lower Corporate Income Tax than U.S. avg. (State-Fed) and up to 50% lower employer healthcare costs
- Lower salary costs and lower employee attrition for technology and management roles compared to major U.S. metro areas
- Federal and Provincial SR&ED incentives can cut R&D costs by 40%-60%
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The Bottom Line for Your Business
Locate/Expand in York Region, Greater Toronto: Maximize Your Market Access | Leverage Top Global Talent | Locate Cost-Effectively