Winnipeg Free Press Local biotech firms target serious global health issues Joe Bryksa / Free Press files Chuck LaFleche said the pandemic has actually proven to loosen the purse strings for research money to deal with something as big as antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections. . While the whole world has waited and marvelled at the technological magic that’s been deployed to produce COVID-19 vaccines in record time, there is a growing realization in some quarters about other devastating public health issues that need to be addressed. Opinion While the whole world has waited and marvelled at the technological magic that’s been deployed to produce COVID-19 vaccines in record time, there is a growing realization in some quarters about other devastating public health issues that need to be addressed.