January 11, 2024

Life Sciences BC seeks to raise the profile of our members and supporters, highlight their achievements, and promote BC's dynamic life sciences ecosystem. If you have news or a story to share, let us know.

You can find previous editions of BioLinks newsletters and other resources on our website at News/Publications.

Life Sciences BC News

We had an exceptional experience at this year's J.P. Morgan Conference Week in San Francisco! As the industry's most prominent healthcare investment symposium, JPM Week draws thousands of global healthcare leaders, emerging companies, tech innovators, and the investment community for networking, partnering, showcasing, thought leadership, and deal-making. With over 57 BC companies participating in JPM Week, we take immense pride in showcasing our region's exceptional talent and innovation and advancing support for our growing sector.

We kicked off the week by hosting a dynamic, over-capacity BC Networking Reception, generously sponsored by J.P. Morgan and supported by BC's Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development, and

Innovation (JEDI). This exclusive event brought together over 125 attendees, including business leaders, investors, government officials, and stakeholders from Canada, the US, and beyond. During the reception, Deputy Minister Fazil Mihlar from BC's Ministry of JEDI, Michael Gietl of J.P. Morgan, and Carl Hansen of AbCellera shared remarks, paving the way for many meaningful conversations and networking opportunities.

Our conference highlights included attending the BIOTECanada Canadian Networking Breakfast, the State Bio Friends Kickoff Reception hosted by AZBio, Biocom, BioNJ, MichBio, and NewYorkBio, and engaging in many impactful meetings at the Biotech Showcase, RESI JPM Conference, and BIO One-on-One Partnering events. We had the opportunity to sit down with the United Therapeutics executive leadership team and connect with sector leaders from around the world at the Cozen O'Connor and Mintz receptions, the McDermott Will & Emery and EY Forum, and the list goes on!

We checked in with many of our participating members, attending several excellent presentations, including by Aspect Biosystems, AbCellera, Zymeworks, and Aurinia, which presented at the prestigious - and exclusive - 42nd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference event! It was fantastic to see so many BC-based companies making connections and showcasing their innovations to an audience of global investors!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to our participation in this fantastic week and to the attendees of our reception for making it a truly successful event! To all our fellow participants from BC, we extend our best wishes for continued success in the post-conference phase, hoping that your experience was as wonderful as ours!  

Member Highlights 

Canary Medical CEO Bill Hunter was recently interviewed on the Career Diaries podcast, where he shared lessons learned over 30 years in 3 companies, what it takes to become the CEO of a successful medtech company and the growing integration of digital health data into the medical devices space. Watch/listen here.

New England Biolabs (NEB), an industry leader in the discovery and production of enzymes for molecular biology applications, has launched its 50 Stop World Tour in 2024, including a stop in Vancouver in November at the AMP 2024 Annual Meeting & Expo. Learn more on NEB’s interactive map. 

Health and Technology District, a growing health and technology sector in Surrey, BC, is spotlighted in the recent edition of Silicon Valley-based Disruption Magazine Canada. The article explores its evolution as a center for collaboration, disruption, and innovation within the health and education sectors. Check out the feature on page 6 here.

New Members

Robyn Quinn is the President of Big Bang Communications and a professional public relations and media relations communicator specializing in STEM sector business. She co-founded and chaired IWIST (Island Women in Science and Technology) and sits on its Board. While a senior communications officer for Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, she was an advisor to BioNova and managed the life sciences and business retention portfolios. Recent work includes writing for STEM-focused media outlets.

Welcome to the LSBC community!

Industry Highlights

CIHR has launched the 2024 membership cycle for its Institute Advisory Boards (IAB), encouraging those passionate about advancing health research in Canada to apply. This includes members from all communities, particularly those historically underrepresented in research. Applications are due April 25. Learn more.

CIHR has also launched its online engagement to gather feedback on refreshing Canada’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR). Feedback is collected on various aspects of the SPOR program, including its strengths and challenges, emerging needs in patient-oriented research, accelerating self-determination for Indigenous communities, promoting equity and diversity, building research capacity, enhancing collaboration with decision-makers, and involving stakeholders in decision-making about the Strategy. Feedback is being collected until March 31. Join the discussion here.

Canada’s Indigenous Leadership Circle in Research, comprised of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis academics, seeks new members with a deep understanding of Indigenous research and who are interested in improving the research landscape for Indigenous researchers in Canada. Applications are due March 31. Learn more.

Kudos

Congratulations to Abdera Therapeutics for its inclusion in BioSpace's NextGen Class of 2024. This acknowledgment recognizes Abdera as a top life sciences startup to watch for its efforts in advancing precision radiotherapeutics for cancer treatment. See the complete list of honourees here.

Kudos to Canary Medical, which was recognized by OrthoFeed as one of the Top 10 Orthopedic Startups to watch in 2024 for revolutionizing orthopedic care through the development of implantable smart devices. See the complete list of honourees here.

Congrats to LifeLabs, which was named the 2024 BrandSpark Most Trusted Brand Award in Health Diagnostic Services for the second year in a row! Learn more.

People on the Move

Jen Mielguj has been promoted to Director of IP & Partnerships at Digital.

Applications Open

Applications are now open for BC TECH’s 2024 Technology Impact Awards (TIA), celebrating outstanding companies and individuals who have significantly impacted the BC tech industry. Last year’s awards winners included LSBC members Aspect Biosystems, which took home two awards: Company of the Year – Scale and Gamechanger – Ambition; STEMCELL Technologies, which won Company of the Year – Anchor; and AbCellera, which won the award for Excellence in Industry Innovation. Learn more about the nine award categories and how to apply here. 

STEMCELL Technologies offers CPD and P.A.C.E. accredited live virtual training courses throughout the year to elevate your research skills. Learn more about the 2024 training and education session on offer here.

We invite you to explore our expanded list of current life sciences application opportunities by clicking the button below.

Upcoming LSBC events and programs at-a-glance

Jan. 30 - Join us for “Understanding the Value of Employment Contracts,” presented by Gowling WLG. Learn what you need to know about employment contracts to safeguard your intellectual property.

Feb. 6 - Our upcoming McCarthy Spotlight Speaking Series event "AI Advancing Life Sciences Innovation," will focus on AI’s present and potential future applications in life sciences innovation. 

Feb. 28 - Join us for our 9th Annual Access to Innovation conference. This full-day gathering welcomes life sciences leaders and trailblazers from academia, research, health institutions, government, and industry.



Until next week,

The LSBC team

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Gowling WLG Canada Strengthens Partnership with 32 New Professionals

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Aurinia Provides Preliminary Unaudited Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2023 Net Revenue Results

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Director, Immunology

The Director is responsible for supporting design and development of innovative antibody-based therapeutics in fields of immuno-oncology, autoimmunity and/or inflammation from inception to IND and into early clinical development, expanding the cutting-edge expertise and the breadth/depth of knowledge in Immunology based research and biologic drug development within eRnD...LEARN MORE

Senior Research Associate I, Protein Engineering

The Senior Research Associate is responsible for independently planning, performing, and optimizing protein purification of multispecific antibodies to support research programs, characterizing protein therapeutics by analytical and biophysical methods for quality control, stability, and developability studies...LEARN MORE

General Application for Thrive Health (Remote)

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Research Associate, Preclinical

The role holder will be responsible for executing and supporting studies assessing the pharmacology, immunology, mechanism of action, distribution and safety profile of our LNP, executing analyses and data interpretation, and presenting results to the team and company...LEARN MORE

Animal Technician, Preclinical

The Animal Technician will be responsible for conducting and supporting in vivo/in vitro studies to characterize the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics/distribution and safety of lipid nanoparticles-nucleic acid formulations. The Animal Technician will be proficient/expert in routine procedures required for in vivo studies/in vitro assays and will be able to generate and follow standard operating procedures...LEARN MORE

QA Manager

The Quality Assurance Manager is responsible for the upkeep and monitoring of the Eupraxia Quality System, to ensure compliance with GxP and applicable international regulatory standards. To this end, the Manager will need to keep abreast of evolving changes in the regulatory environment, compliance policies and procedures...LEARN MORE

Senior Director Process Development & Manufacturing

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Manager, Business Development Cell & Tissue Therapy

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Account Manager, proXimity

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