Friday | December 2nd, 2022

CEO MESSAGE

It’s hard for us to believe, but this week heralded LSBC’s final event of 2022. However, we rounded out the year with a bang! The McCarthy Tétrault Spotlight Speaking Series featured a stellar panel with AbCellera, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, and Chinook Therapeutics, who shared their companies’ unique journeys from private to public.

 

Our annual LSBC Holiday Party directly followed, where we had the pleasure of socializing with our fantastic life sciences community over refreshments in the beautiful offices of McCarthy Tétrault, event sponsor. Preparations are underway for future events, so stay tuned!

 

If you are a life sciences company with BC employees, we encourage you to participate in the BC Life Sciences Labour Market Intelligence Study Survey, gathering critical information about the jobs and skills needed to grow BC’s dynamic

life sciences sector. Your input is vital! For details, click here.

 

Member News

 

Great news for Simon Fraser University as Premier David Eby announced $4.9M in funding towards start-up activities for B.C.'s second medical school at their Surrey campus. They plan to accept students by September 2026, with the first batch of physician graduates in 2030.

 

Virogin Biotech has announced that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase 1 clinical study evaluating VG201, a first-in-class HSV Type I oncolytic virus product constructed based on a transcriptional and translational dual-regulated (TTDR) backbone.


Genome BC is the first in Canada to partner with protocols.io, adopting their increasingly popular tool in international research circles that provides a secure platform for developing and sharing reproducible research methods.

 

Industry News

 

The Canada Research Coordinating Committee has published its 2021-22 Progress Report, Moving Forward, outlining how Canada’s federal research funding organizations worked together to help sustain Canada’s research enterprise through the second year of the global pandemic while continuing to build a strong, more equitable, connected and innovative research community. 

 

Digital Health Canada has revealed phase one of a new online resource of available provincial and territorial digital health strategies across Canada. This free resource gives digital health professionals a single reference point to access regional strategic plans and priorities.

 

Kudos

 

Congratulations to the University of British Columbia’s Dr. Charlene Ronquillo, recognized by Digital Health Canada as a 2022 Women Leader in Digital Health in the Emerging Professional category.

 

A shout out to our members nominated for the Victoria Tech Community Awards, recognizing Victoria’s technology companies and celebrating their outstanding contributions, which have helped Victoria become the fastest-growing technology region in B.C.

 

Kudos to our cancer research team members who are winners of the 2022 Terry Fox New Frontiers Program Project Grant competition. They will share $22.4 million to expand their research into key areas of cancer treatment.

 

People on the Move

 

Nimbus Synergies have appointed nationally recognized venture capital investor Jason Robertson as their first Partner. Jason is also one of LSBC’s entrepreneurs-in-residence as part of our Investor Readiness Program.

 

Carol Stiff of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Najah Sampson of Pfizer Canada, and Andrea Marazzi of Novartis have joined Innovative Medicines Canada’s Board of Directors.

 

New Members

 

We are delighted to welcome three new members. Biogen Canada contributes to the life science sector through its investments in research and development. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Canada is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation to create medicines for people with serious diseases. Bosa Construction is a forward-thinking construction partner that collaborates with owners, consultants, and trades to construct precedent-setting residential, commercial, and institutional developments.

 

We thank our new bronze sponsor Seagen Canada, a global biotechnology company that develops and commercializes transformative cancer therapies, for their support.

 

The Last Word

 

Looking ahead to the New Year, it’s not too soon to save the date for Canada's largest life-sciences-focused career event that brings employers and potential employees together. Our dynamic full-day Career Connect Day takes place on January 20th. Stay tuned for more info!

 

Until next week,

Wendy and the LSBC team

  

PLATINUM SPONSORS
 
 
 
 

AbCellera and Rallybio Announce Strategic Alliance to Discover, Develop, and Commercialize Novel Antibody-Based Therapeutics for Rare Diseases

AbCellera and Rallybio Corporation announced that they have entered into a strategic alliance to discover, develop, and commercialize novel antibody-based therapeutics for rare diseases. This multi-year, multi-target collaboration will combine AbCellera’s antibody discovery engine with Rallybio’s clinical and commercial expertise in rare diseases to identify optimal clinical candidates and ultimately deliver therapies to patients...READ MORE

 

Roche Canada Announces Purchase Agreement with the Government of Canada for ACTEMRA® IV (tocilizumab for injection) for Treatment of Adult Patients with COVID-19

Roche Canada has signed agreements with the Government of Canada to supply 15,000 treatment courses of ACTEMRA ® IV (tocilizumab for injection) for adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19. It is estimated that for every 1000 adults in hospital with COVID-19, 429 would be eligible for tocilizumab; treating them all may prevent 17 deaths and 12 instances of invasive mechanical ventilation. As demonstrated in the RECOVERY trial, the median time to hospital discharge was 19 days in the tocilizumab + usual care arm and >28 days in the usual care arm...READ MORE

 

Bausch Health Canada Announce Arazlo (tazarotene) was Added to the Quebec Public Drug Plan for Treatment of Acne Vulgaris

Bausch Health, Canada announce that on November 9, 2022, Arazlo (tazarotene) was added to the Quebec public drug plan formulary. Arazlo is indicated for the topical treatment of acne vulgaris in patients 10 years of age and older. This new listing is in addition to Arazlo already being listed for public reimbursement on the Non-Insured Health Benefits Drug Benefit List, the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary, the Alberta Drug Benefit List, and the Saskatchewan Formulary...READ MORE

 

Genome BC Becomes First in Canada to Adopt protocols.io

In a move to improve research method storage and sharing, Genome British Columbia has announced that they are partnering with protocols.io to provide premium access for funded researchers to protocols.io, a secure platform for developing and sharing reproducible methods. With this move, Genome BC becomes the first organization in Canada to adopt protocols.io...READ MORE

 

Gilead and Arcus Biosciences Announce Positive Update on Joint TIGIT Program From Interim Analysis of ARC-7 Study in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Arcus Biosciences announced a positive update from the fourth interim analysis of the randomized, open-label Phase 2 ARC-7 study in patients with first-line metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) ≥50% without epidermal growth factor receptor or anaplastic lymphoma kinase mutations....READ MORE

 

Jason Robertson Named Partner to Strengthen Nimbus Synergies’ Leadership in Canadian Health Tech

Nimbus Synergies, investor, partner, and mentor to Canada’s leading health technology companies, announce the appointment of Jason Robertson as Partner. Jason is a nationally recognized venture capital investor with almost 20 years of experience as a healthcare leader and innovator. Over the past five years, Jason has established a track record of leading Seed to Series A investments in a dozen startups – deploying over $21M of capital – on behalf of Nimbus as well as supporting two exits as a Board member...READ MORE

 

Premier Reveals First Details of SFU Medical School

Ten days after being sworn in as Premier of British Columbia, David Eby was at SFU’s Surrey campus to announce $4.9 million in start-up funding for the medical school on Monday and to share some of the first details about the school, which is aiming to accept it first students by September 2026. This will be the first medical school to be built in Western Canada in the last half century...READ MORE

 

GSK Canada Submits Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Vaccine Candidate for Regulatory Review

GSK has filed a New Drug Submission (NDS) to Health Canada for its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) older adult vaccine candidate. If approved, GSK’s RSV older adult vaccine candidate has the potential to be the first vaccine available to help protect adults aged 60 years and older from lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV infection...READ MORE

 

Virogin Biotech Announces Dosing the First US Patient in a Phase 1 Study of VG201 for Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors

Virogin Biotech, a clinical-stage biotech company, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase 1 clinical study evaluating VG201, a first-in-class HSV Type I oncolytic virus product constructed based on a transcriptional and translational dual-regulated backbone developed by Virogin Biotech. It is designed to generate enhanced oncolytic activity specifically for tumors expressing carcinoembryonic antigen and is designed to produce immune-stimulating cytokines IL-12 and IL-15/IL-15Rα which, in turn, may modulate the tumor microenvironment...READ MORE

INDUSTRY NEWS
 
 

Canada Research Coordinating Committee Releases 2021-22 Progress Report

The Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) has released its 2021-22 progress report, Moving Forward. The report illustrates how Canada’s federal research funding organizations worked together to help sustain Canada’s research enterprise through the second year of the global pandemic, while continuing to build a strong, more equitable, connected and innovative research community...READ MORE

 
GOLD SPONSORS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sr. Research Associate – Analytical


The role holder will be responsible for overseeing and taking part in the routine analytical testing program to support internal formulation development and stability programs and external partner programs. This includes providing training and support to junior staff in the routine analytical test methods, troubleshooting and resolving complex analytical issues, interpreting and presenting results, and managing and supporting the transfer of analytical test methods to third-party partner sites and CMOs.



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Director/VP Manufacturing



This job posting is for a full-time (1.0 FTE) position. The position requires a proven ability to multi-task efficiently in the area of biologics manufacture, to ensure that Qu’s SSI Technology Platform is fully supported and led in all CMC activities, including GLP toxicology materials through to Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trial material, as well as outsourced contract manufacturing of aseptically manufactured drug substances in all stages of development and scale-up.




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Marketing Associate (NEW)



Response Biomedical are seeking a dynamic Marketing Associate who is self-motivated and enjoys working in a fast paced environment. This position is responsible for developing and implementing marketing/ advertising activities and create strategies to promote company’s product, services, and brand, accountable for digital channels to raise brand awareness and generate leads, for the core purpose of improving patient outcomes and saving lives globally.




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SILVER SPONSORS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
New Member Welcome

IUVOX is a Vancouver-based healthtech startup combining AI with far-UVC technology to help keep dental operatories safe from disease. Our smart systems can achieve the equivalent to over 100 air changes per hour while ensuring 99.9% efficacy at all times!


Our hands-free solution enhances oral health professionals’ daily work experience so that they can focus on providing the best care to their patients while also cutting down on ineffective, laborious, and obtrusive disinfecting methods.











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Member Spotlight

As a construction company working exclusively in commercial and industrial sectors, they design and develop highly specialized buildings to meet the unique demands of each industry. There are many challenges in this field, and they always aim to provide innovative solutions that fit their clients' diverse needs. They proudly employ a highly experienced team and hire industry-leading trade partners and consultants, so their clients know they’re working with the best when they partner with Wales McLelland.














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Post a Job on the LSBC Website!

LSBC Membership Discounts on Job Postings

 

As an LSBC member, your first five job postings EARN a free repost on BioTalent Canada's The Petri Dish. After your first five posts, you will also receive 25% off all job postings on The Petri Dish. Want more info? Contact talent@lifesciencesbc.ca.

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