It’s a true privilege to be working within the life sciences sector during such an exciting time of growth and development. Daily, I continue to be awed by the announcements of companies within the sector, as news flows in on drug development, gene therapy, drug safety, regulatory affairs, pharma supply chains, digitalization, transformation, and more.
Building off the International Women’s Day conversations around women in leadership from last week, it was inspiring to have the opportunity to sit with Minister Ravi Kahlon, Parliamentary Secretary Brenda Bailey and Parliamentary Secretary Niki Sharma in a Women in Leadership Roundtable and discuss how we can support more women in leadership roles across BC.
It was also inspiring to learn how Chip Wilson, based on his personal story, is committing $100 million to the new venture, Solve FSHD, which will be dedicated to finding a cure for Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy type 2 (FSHD2). Additionally, Nimbus Synergies announced the completion of a $20 million strategic investment in Clarius Mobile Health.
Congratulations to Drs Wyatt, Chi and Fonseca on being recognized with a three-year Canadian Cancer Society Challenge Grant for their work to accelerate the clinical development of plasma ctDNA fraction as a management tool in advanced prostate cancer. Kudos also to BC Cancer's Dr. Brad Nelson for being awarded the Canadian Society for Immunology’s 2022 Hardy Cinader Award.
It was also exciting to learn that Fusion Genomics’ ONETest has been selected for a Pilot Pandemic Surveillance Study at Toronto Pearson International Airport to analyze volunteer samples for COVID-19 and other respiratory pathogens.
A big congratulations to Ryan Dercho who is now the Executive Director, Strategy & Corporate Development at Zymeworks Inc.
I also wanted to take an opportunity to highlight two great opportunities. Medtech Canada has released a “Call for Sessions” form for both Canada’s Medtech Conference & Canada’s Medtech Regulatory Conference. Ideas shared and suggested here can shape the themes of these conferences, as well as influence future Speaker Series and guest speakers at regional committee meetings.
Also, Creative Destruction Lab applications are now open. This is a fantastic program for deep tech start-ups.
In light of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, we wanted to take a moment to share how our sector continues to show its support in many different ways. One recent example was an open letter from Gilead’s CEO and Chairman, outlining some of their work, including continued access to medicine, support of humanitarian efforts, and offering resources to grantee organizations based in Ukraine, Russia and the surrounding areas.
In closing, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to register for our upcoming Showcase Series: Vancouver Island event and/or our Showcase Series: Surrey event. Our Showcase Series events represent a unique opportunity to learn more about Life Sciences BC, along with the cutting-edge research and development being done in specific regions.
Wendy and the LSBC Team
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Where were you 30 years ago? We’re celebrating 30 years of Life Sciences BC this year by celebrating 30 years of life sciences in BC. Please visit our survey and add your favourite memorable event from our vibrant life sciences sector.
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Roche Provides Molecular Testing Solutions to Identify and Differentiate SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variants of Concern
Roche and TIB Molbiol, a subsidiary within the Roche Diagnostics division, announced available testing solutions that can identify the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 variant and differentiate between the Omicron subvariants BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.2.2, BA.3 and Delta. “Roche is pleased to offer testing options addressing the ongoing COVID-19 healthcare crisis, specifically in response to the WHO’s recent recommendation ...READ MORE
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LYNPARZA® (olaparib) Reduced Risk of Death by 32% in Patients With Germline BRCA-Mutated, HER2-Negative High-Risk Early Breast Cancer in Phase 3 OlympiA Trial
AstraZeneca and Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced additional positive results from the Phase 3 OlympiA trial. In OlympiA, LYNPARZA demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS) versus placebo for the adjuvant treatment of patients with germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative high-risk early breast cancer who have been treated with neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy ...READ MORE
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SVB Honored by Foreign Policy Association for Corporate Social Responsibility
SVB Financial Group (SVB), the financial partner of the innovation economy, has been recognized by the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) as a recipient of the 2022 FPA Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award. FPA is the nation’s oldest organization devoted to increasing understanding and informed opinion of U.S. foreign policy and global issues ...READ MORE
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Nimbus Synergies Leads $20 Million Strategic Investment in Clarius Mobile Health to Accelerate Growth
Nimbus Synergies, investor, partner, and mentor to Canada’s leading health technology companies, is pleased to announce the completion of a $20 million strategic investment in Clarius Mobile Health. This new investment was led by Nimbus Synergies and Export Development Canada to enable Clarius to expand its commercial scale and capitalize on the momentum created by ... READ MORE
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NervGen Pharma Receives Approval from Safety Review Committee to Proceed to Second Cohort in Multiple Ascending Dose Portion of Phase 1 Clinical Trial of NVG-291
NervGen Pharma, a clinical stage biotech company dedicated to developing innovative solutions for the treatment of nervous system damage, has received approval from the Safety Review Committee to advance to the second cohort in the multiple ascending dose (MAD) portion of its Phase 1 clinical trial of the Company’s proprietary lead compound, NVG-291 ... READ MORE
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Merck Announces KEYLYNK-010 Trial Evaluating KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in Combination with LYNPARZA® (olaparib) in Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer to Stop for Futility
Merck announced that it will stop the Phase 3 KEYLYNK-010 trial investigating KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with LYNPARZA, a PARP inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who progressed after treatment with chemotherapy and either abiraterone acetate or enzalutamide ... READ MORE
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Sanofi Announces €300 Million Collaboration with Blackstone Life Sciences to Advance an Innovative Treatment for Multiple Myeloma
Sanofi and Blackstone announced a strategic, risk-sharing collaboration under which funds managed by Blackstone Life Sciences will contribute up to €300 million to accelerate the global pivotal studies and the clinical development program for the subcutaneous formulation and delivery of the anti-CD38 antibody Sarclisa®, to treat patients with multiple myeloma ... READ MORE
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Breast CT Authority and Head of Clinical Trials Joins Izotropic
Izotropic Corporation, a Company commercializing a dedicated breast CT (computed tomography) imaging platform, IzoView, for the more accurate detection and diagnosis of breast cancers is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Shadi Aminololama- Shakeri, MD, FSBI to its advisory board and commercialization team as a clinical consultant ... READ MORE
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Meeting Unprecedented Demand from the Telecommunications Industry
When people began working from home and businesses went virtual at the start of the pandemic, telecommunications networks approached full capacity. The Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre played an important role in ensuring the demand for connectivity could continue to be met ... READ MORE
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Pfizer Completes Acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals
Pfizer Inc. announced the completion of its acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage company developing innovative potential therapies for the treatment of several immuno-inflammatory diseases ...
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Fusion Genomics ONETest Selected for Pilot Pandemic Surveillance Study at Toronto Pearson International Airport
Fusion Genomics announced that the company has been selected to conduct a first-of-its-kind pilot study using its sequencing-based infectious disease ONETest platform to detect SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. ...READ MORE
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Sanofi Recognized by S&P as One of the Most Sustainability-Committed Companies
Sanofi was recognized as one of the most sustainability-committed companies in an ESG Evaluation (Environment, Social, Governance) performed by Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings. The ESG Evaluation awarded Sanofi a score of 86 out of 100 points, one of the highest scores across all sectors globally. ...READ MORE
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An Open Letter on Ukraine from Daniel O’Day, Chairman & CEO of Gilead
As the disturbing events in Ukraine continue to unfold, Gilead’s initial priority has been to safeguard our employees in the region. At the same time, our teams have been working with urgency to mitigate any impact on the supply of our medicines to patients who depend on them ...READ MORE
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Dr. Brad Nelson – Recipient of the Canadian Society for Immunology’s 2022 Hardy Cinader Award
The Canadian Society for Immunology has awarded Dr. Brad Nelson, distinguished scientist and co-director of BC Cancer’s Immunotherapy Program, with the 2022 Hardy Cinader Award. This award is the highest honour by the CSI, given to a Canadian scientist who exemplifies distinguished scientific leadership and accomplishments in immunology ...READ MORE
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From apparel to clinical trials: Lululemon Founder Commits $100 Million to Find Cure for FSHD
Chip Wilson suffers from a rare form of muscular dystrophy and seeks scientific innovators to find a cure to help him and others... READ MORE
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Baehl Innovation is a strategic consulting boutique specializing in new market development and providing guidance across all stages of the innovation pathway with an exclusive focus in Life Sciences. They are strategists, market experts, doctors and scientists who come together to provide strategic consulting and commercial support for mid-sized companies and high value start-ups.
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The High Technology Facilities Group (The HTFG) at CBRE focuses exclusively on commercial real estate solutions for BC’s technology and life sciences sector. The HTFG goes beyond finding commercial space to support companies that make up the fabric of Vancouver’s tech and biotech industry – they are building BC’s tech ecosystem by helping companies find workspace environments that drive culture and attract top talent.
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President & CEO
Genome BC is seeking a President & CEO who is responsible for articulating a vision, developing corporate strategies, and interacting with industry stakeholders to raise funds, develop strategies, and implement programs.
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Manager, Tax
Zymeworks Inc. is seeking a Manager, Tax who will work with teams and business leaders to assist with tax planning initiatives and special projects, and will ensure policies and procedures are meeting regulatory requirements.
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LSBC Job Board
Jobs posted to our Job Board automatically post out to all our social media accounts for wider sharing. Make sure you include your company name in the first line of your job ad for maximum exposure!
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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 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 Megan Pan -talent@lifesciencesbc.ca
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