Reaching new markets: Gene Bio Medical brings Canadian Innovation to the Indo-Pacific

Diversifying into global markets is important for companies looking to expand their operations and improve their bottom line, but the process can be complex. For Jessica Hu, CEO of Gene Bio Medical in Vancouver, setting up a joint venture with a larger firm in Vietnam has given her biotech company a foothold in a region where Canada is advancing trade relationships through the Indo-Pacific Strategy and Canadian companies can take advantage of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) .

Hu is a biopharmaceutical engineer with over 20 years of experience. In 2005, she was part of one of the first research and development teams in China to develop diagnostic kits for the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus. She came to Canada in 2007, became an entrepreneur and in 2021 founded Gene Bio Medical, which developed, made, and distributed COVID-19 antigen rapid tests in Canada. The company quickly grew to 132 full-time employees. 

Following the completion of its COVID-related projects, Gene Bio Medical now operates with a streamlined core team of 26 employees, focused on innovation and export development. Hu says the company’s first export market was the United States, where it sold biomarkers used in the making of diagnostic tests. It also had buyers in China, and the country was a source of supply and a manufacturing centre for Gene Bio Medical.

Gene Bio Medical makes diagnostic kits for infectious diseases, drug tests and early-stage cancer test kits as well as raw materials for such kits. There’s also high demand for its nutraceutical health products, supplements for conditions related to COVID-19 and diabetes, as well as anti-aging and immune support.

“There's so much demand internationally,” says Hu, who began to focus on where she should expand her company when she attended a Team Canada Trade Mission to the United Kingdom and learned about Canada’s Indo Pacific Strategy. “I started to explore outside of the box,” she recalls.

Gene Bio Medical’s main challenges include securing funding and complying with foreign regulations. Hu says that, since Canada lacks internationally certified medical device manufacturing facilities, the company must contract manufacturers in countries such as the U.S. and China. While the U.S. remains a key market and partner, Hu notes that for some high-volume production needs, rising costs and evolving policy factors, such as tariffs and federal grant program changes, highlight the need for global diversification. In China, as with other international markets, protecting intellectual property (IP) requires careful management and trusted local partnerships, she says.

Hu is now exploring opportunities in Vietnam, including a new relationship with Binh Dinh Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Joint Stock Company (Bidiphar), a large pharmaceutical company. Bidiphar is focused on cancer research and therapeutic medications, which fits well with Gene Bio Medical’s diagnostic early-stage cancer testing technology.

With the complexity of expanding into new markets, export advisory services and tailored support from the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) can be key. Hu first got advice from the TCS Regional Office in Vancouver, where Christina Prasad, a Trade Commissioner covering the life sciences sector in 2024, helped Hu with her approach to expansion. “We talked about her search for a strategic operations location,” Prasad remembers. “She was looking at Southeast Asia as a potential place to have a facility, and she wanted to know how we could assist in entering this new market."

Prasad says that Hu “has great plans for the region,” and she wanted to capitalize on the benefits of free trade agreements in these markets. The TCS team in Vancouver suggested Hu apply to the CanExport Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) program to support the company’s goals. 

Gene Bio Medical received a grant from CanExport SMEs to attend a Team Canada Trade Mission to Vietnam in March 2024. The company participated in business-to-business sessions there with the assistance of the TCS who in them to local pharmaceutical companies. One of these was Bidiphar, a firm that Hu had identified as a potential partner. “We had a really good meeting,” she says, which led to a joint venture memorandum of understanding between the companies. 

Bidiphar, a publicly listed company in central Vietnam’s Binh Dinh province, does not have a diagnostic arm and wanted to extend its business model into diagnostics, Hu explains. Cancer treatment often requires tools to test the effectiveness of drug delivery systems. Bidiphar provides the facilities, equipment and capital investment while Gene Bio Medical brings its intellectual property, materials, training, and sales channels to the relationship.

Tuyen Le, a Trade Commissioner in Ho Chi Minh City who was covering the life sciences sector when Gene Bio Medical took part in the trade mission in March 2024, says Bidiphar was invited by the TCS team there as a “strong local partner” for the B2B meetings. Tuyen worked with An Vuong, the Senior Commercial Officer in the British Columbia trade and investment office for Vietnam, to facilitate the meetings. 

Entering a new market can be resource intensive. Joint ventures can be a good approach to gain foreign market traction and understand a business culture and language, Tuyen notes partnerships with a larger company can help Canadian firms learn and comply with regulations and adapt their product to a specific market. Tuyen adds that partners “can draw on each other’s strengths to navigate local opportunities.” 

Hu points out that Vietnam is an important hub for Indo-Pacific sales and operations. Vietnam and Canada are also members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which “offers us a big advantage,” she says, eliminating tariffs and other barriers that her competitors may face. 

The company is also looking at the benefits of Canada’s free trade agreements with Mexico and other Latin American countries. “I definitely see a lot of potential buyers looking to use suppliers where they can avoid paying tariffs,” Hu says.  

She is also looking at setting up a sales centre in either Singapore or Hong Kong, with plans to build up her company’s brand in the Indo-Pacific region over the next 3 years.“

Looking to diversify your exports? The TCS helps Canadian companies of all sizes succeed in international markets through export advisory services, funding, accelerator programs, and tailored support at trade missions and events.  

A solid diversification strategy can help you build long-term stability and global success. You can expand your client base and navigate areas such as:

• unexpected changes in market access
• exchange rate fluctuations
• changes in foreign government policies