CEO and President, LifeSciences BC |
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Life Sciences in the News
This week has been a remarkable week for life science innovation in our ecosystem. The announcements from Pfizer and Eli Lilly, who both had Covid 19 breakthroughs based on B.C. science, was outstanding recognition for our sector on the world stage. For BioNTech and Pfizer it was the collaboration on a Covid – 19 vaccine developed in partnership with Acuitas Therapeutics. For AbCellera it was the FDA authorizing Eli Lilly's Covid-19 antibody treatment for emergency use; a co-developed antibody product that is offering early hope for the treatment of Covid-19. The innovation coming out of Vancouver labs is extraordinary.
LifeSciences BC Events
Next week, on November 19 th, we will be hosting our 2 nd highly successful Showcase Series event, focusing on Kelowna. Our guest speakers for the Kelowna program are: Dr. Julianne Barry and Dr. Deanna Gibson, both from the University of British Columbia, Okanagan; Dr. James Miller, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, XCO Tech and Anne Woods, Managing Director, Life Science & Healthcare – Silicon Valley Bank. You can register for the free event here.
Life Sciences in the Community
Last week the 2020 Technology Impact Awards were hosted by the BC Tech Association and presented by BC Tech President and CEO, Jill Tipping. This year several LifeSciences BC member companies took home awards and we would like to congratulate them.
They are:
- Terramera, Excellence in Technology Innovation
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NZ Technologies, Company of the Year – Start Up Success
- AbCellera, Excellence in Global Export
In addition to the company awards, we saw several Life Science leaders recognized this week. The following were named to Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 under 40: Kevin Heyries, Co-founder and Head of Business Development, AbCellera; Jon Conlin, Partner, Fasken and Jason Robertson, Co-Founder and Vice President of Investments, Nimbus Synergies.
We also saw Dr. Bonnie Henry, Dr. Carl Hansen, Gerri Sinclair, Dr. Patricia Daley and Penny Ballem recognized in The 2020 Vanmag Power 50: Power in the Time of COVID for their leadership.
Congratulations all around - It is wonderful to see the leadership and well-deserved recognition of our extraordinary B.C. Life Science leaders and companies.
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AbCellera-Discovered Antibody Receives U.S. FDA Emergency Use Authorization as a Monotherapy for the Treatment of COVID-19 |
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, November 9, 2020 – AbCellera today announced that bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) 700 mg, a human antibody developed through AbCellera’s collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly), has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Bamlanivimab is authorized for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with a positive COVID-19 test, who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. READ MORE
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The BioNTech and Pfizer Positive COVID-19 Phase 3 Vaccine Data Comes with an Important Canadian Connection |
November 9, 2020 - Vancouver, B.C. – BioNTech and Pfizer have announced positive efficacy data from an interim analysis of their Phase 3 COVID-19 trial results (https://bit.ly/2IkUgki). Based on this interim analysis, the vaccine was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19. Phase 3 of the trial encompassed testing the vaccine for safety and efficacy on 43,538 people around the world.
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Aurinia Reports Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Recent Operational Highlights |
VICTORIA, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AUPH / TSX:AUP) (“Aurinia” or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020 and provided an update on recent operational highlights. Amounts, unless specified otherwise, are expressed in U.S. dollars. READ MORE
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Neoleukin Therapeutics Presents Preclinical Combination Data for NL-201 at Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting (SITC 2020) |
SEATTLE, Nov. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., “Neoleukin” (NASDAQ:NLTX), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing sophisticated computational methods to design de novo protein therapeutics, today announced the presentation of preclinical data on its lead immunotherapy candidate NL-201, an IL-2 and IL-15 agonist... READ MORE
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CIHR – Team Grants: Preparation to Trial in Inflammation for Chronic Conditions |
adMare BioInnovations (adMare) is proud to be one of the two applicant level partners of the Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation Phase 2 organized by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). READ MORE
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Neoleukin Therapeutics Announces Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Corporate Update |
SEATTLE, Nov. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., “Neoleukin” (NASDAQ:NLTX), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing sophisticated computational methods to design de novo protein therapeutics, today announced financial results and a corporate update for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020. READ MORE
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Global Health Sciences Fund (Quark Venture LP and GF Securities) Announces Portfolio Company SQZ Biotechnologies’ IPO |
November 09, 2020 – Vancouver, BC: Quark Venture LP (Quark) and GF Securities are pleased to announce the successful listing of portfolio company, SQZ Biotechnologies (NYSE: SQZ) (“SQZ”) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as of October 30, 2020. This announcement marks Global Health Sciences (GHS) Fund’s third portfolio company to successfully go public after Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Inc... READ MORE.,
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CureVac’s Positive Preliminary Results for a COVID-19 Vaccine Showcases Important Canadian Connection |
Vancouver, B.C. – German biotech firm CureVac has just announced positive preliminary results (https://bit.ly/34TK6Qn) from clinical studies on its COVID-19 vaccine, and it comes with a strong Canadian connection. READ MORE
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Aurinia Presents Integrated Time to Renal Response Data from the AURA-LV and AURORA Trials, along with Voclosporin Drug-Drug Interaction Data at ACR Convergence 2020 |
VICTORIA, British Columbia–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: AUPH / TSX:AUP) (Aurinia or the Company), a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, today announced data from an integrated analysis of the AURA-LV and AURORA pivotal trials that further supports voclosporin as a potential treatment for lupus nephritis (LN) in a presentation at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2020. READ MORE
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Neoleukin Therapeutics to Present at the Stifel 2020 Virtual Healthcare Conference |
SEATTLE, Nov. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., “Neoleukin” (NASDAQ:NLTX), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing sophisticated computational methods to design de novo protein therapeutics, today announced that Jonathan Drachman, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, will present at the Stifel 2020 Virtual Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 at 4:40 p.m. Eastern Time. READ MORE
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InMed Announces Pricing of US$8M Public Offering and Listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market Under the Symbol “INM” |
Vancouver, BC – November 12, 2020 – InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“InMed” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:INM; TSX:IN), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing medications targeting diseases with high unmet medical need and leading the clinical development of cannabinol (“CBN”), today announced that it has priced a public offering of an aggregate of 1,780,000 common shares, together with accompanying warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,780,000 common shares, at a public offering price of US$4.50 per share and accompanying warrant. READ MORE
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Canada approves first HIV self-test as it moves to increase access to screening |
NOVEMBER 3, 2020 | By: ADINA BRESGE.THE CANADIAN PRESS | Federal regulators have approved the first HIV self-test in Canada in a long-awaited move that experts say is critical to diagnosing people who don’t know they have the virus. READ MORE
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Covid vaccine: First 'milestone' vaccine offers 90% protection |
Nov. 9, 2020 | By James Gallagher, Health and Science Correspondent, BBC Health News | The developers - Pfizer and BioNTech - described it as a "great day for science and humanity". Their vaccine has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries and no safety concerns have been raised. The companies plan to apply for emergency approval to use the vaccine by the end of the month. READ MORE
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Elon Musk: Tesla’s RNA vaccine printer for CureVac is going to be ‘important product for the world’ |
Nov. 10th 2020 | By Fred Lambert. Electrek | Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla is currently working on version 3 of its vaccine printer for CureVac and he believes that it is going to be an “important product for the world.”
Earlier this year, Musk announced that Tesla has become the manufacturing partner for biotech firm CureVac who is working on a COVID-19 vaccine based on their RNA technology. READ MORE
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Amplitude Ventures are investors and proven company builders who, at the core, are driven to bring the best healthcare innovations to market to help improve the lives of patients one patient at a time. They have spent decades working with healthcare entrepreneurs to realize their vision of bringing life changing therapies to patients, while delivering superior value to investors. Most recently, they worked together to lead healthcare venture investing at Canada’s most active venture investor, creating, building and growing globally competitive Canadian healthcare companies. This strong track record has attracted leading institutions as investors in Amplitude.
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KPMG LLP provides accounting, tax and financial advisory services to start-up, emerging growth and world-class biotechnology companies. KPMG LLP is the Canadian member firm of KPMG International, a Swiss association. KPMG International’s member firms have more than 100,000 professionals, including 7,000 partners, in 155 countries.
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PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBAL HEALTHCARE INNOVATION |
What’s driving innovation in life science and healthcare? SVB is committed to serving the ecosystem by providing industry-leading reports featuring proprietary analysis and targeted outlooks to help companies and investors achieve their goals. Twice a year we publish deep-dive analyses describing fundraising, investment, M&A and IPO activity of private, venture-backed biopharma, medical device and diagnostic/tools companies. Our deep relationships with top life science and healthcare entrepreneurs and investors inform our insights and give us a vantage point unlike any other bank. To find out more about Silicon Valley Bank click here
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Update: Student Work Placement Program now open to healthcare placements |
The Student Work Placement Program is now accepting applications for healthcare placements. Canada’s healthcare industry has a growing need to produce job-ready healthcare workers. There are 1,500 open spots available in 2020-21. WEBSITE
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Posting A JOB on the LSBC Website |
LSBC Membership Discounts on Job Postings
As an LSBC member, your first five job postings EARNS a free repost on BioTalent Canada's The Petri Dish After your first five reposts, you will also receive 25% off all job postings on The Petri Dish. Want more info? CONTACT: Sue Callaghan - [email protected]
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