Chris Gardner, the co-founder and CEO of Sequence Bio, a Newfoundland and Labrador genomic data company, has been appointed to the newly created federal Health/Bio-sciences Economic Strategy Table.

“Canadians are known for finding the better, smarter way - and it’s time we brought that thinking to health care,” Gardner said in a statement. “I’m proud to join this team of disruptors to drive real, meaningful change that will improve the health of Canadians while promoting our innovation sector around the world,”

Sequence Bio plans to lead a large-scale genetic research project in Newfoundland and Labrador, called the NL Genome Project. This community-based initiative aims to create a powerful drug-discovery platform to help with the identification of diseases and drugs that could treat them.

“At Sequence Bio, we’re striving to transform drug discovery and develop more effective, safer medicines. We’re taking a new approach by engaging research participants in the research process and in their own healthcare by returning findings about their genetic makeup.”

The Health/Bio-sciences Economic Strategy Table, a group of about 15 CEOs and leaders in the health and bio-sciences field, will set growth targets and help develop strategy to grow the sector.

The strategy table will meet regularly and present a report of findings and recommendations in 2018.