Life Sciences BC News, May 16, 2024

The LSBC Awards is an annual marquee event held this year on September 10, 2024. Gathering our life sciences community to celebrate the many achievements, highlights, and wins of the past year. This is an opportunity to recognize truly exceptional individuals and organizations.  

2023 Award winner for Scientific Entrepreneurship Dr. Peter Zandstra reiterates in his award video, “...how really good science is the foundation of important new ideas which then move forward and have an impact on society.” Watch his video produced by biofilm MEDIA here. 

Be part of the celebration by nominating a deserving individual or organization. All nominations received by the May 26 deadline will be entered into a draw for 1 of 5 free tickets for your choice of LSBC Speaker’s Series or Showcase events. Tickets will be redeemable for up to a year from the competition draw date. We are excited to see who will join the ranks of LSBC’s esteemed award winners selected by a panel of sector leaders. For a list of past years’ award categories and winners click here.

Next week as we lead up to BIO, on Thursday, May 23, LSBC will host our BC Delegation Spotlight. With over 150 registered for this event, join participants from around the world including Canada, the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan, Sweden, and more as they tune in to learn about some of the companies that will be representing BC at this international conference. Register for the online event here.

Member Highlights 

Xenon’s CEO Ian Mortimer was interviewed on BiotechTV discussing Xenon's work in epilepsy and major depressive disorder. Xenon has extensive ion channel expertise and is developing new product candidates, such as Kv7 channel openers, Nav1.7 inhibitors and Nav1.1 openers. Xenon’s lead program, a potassium channel modulator for Kv7 is currently in a large Phase 3 program with three Phase 3 clinical trials ongoing. Watch the interview here.

AbbVie and Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals announce collaboration to develop next-generation therapies for psychiatric disorders. These are known as neuroplastogens and have shown the potential to provide clinical benefits and minimize the challenging psychoactive effects seen with first-generation compounds. Read more.

Kardium continues to demonstrate the clinical capabilities of its Globe® System for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Read more.

Molecular You is featured in CLP magazine for its work leveraging AI to detect complex patterns in biological markers, potentially identifying autism much earlier than traditional methods. Preliminary studies show that Molecular You’s AI-driven diagnostic tools can distinguish between ASD and non-ASD children with up to 99% accuracy. Read more.

VoxCell launches its first commercial product, the Universal Bioink™. These are a multi-component polymeric mixture, that replicates the extracellular matrix of living tissues. Engineered for versatility, these kits enable the creation of 3D hydrogels that mimic the chemical and mechanical properties of soft tissue. Read more.

Industry Highlights

BIO reported the results of a survey of 124 biopharma companies, finding that 79% have at least one contract or product with a China-based or China-owned CDMO/CMO, and they’ll need up to eight years to switch manufacturing partners. House lawmakers unveiled a new draft of the BIOSECURE Act, which would decouple U.S. biotech’s reliance on China. The new legislation “highlights a key vulnerability in the U.S. global supply chain and importantly provides a reasonable timeframe for companies to decouple their reliance on China-based biomanufacturing.” says BIO President & CEO John F. Crowley.

New LSBC Member

Reverb Therapeutics is advancing its Amplifier platform: a novel approach for cancer treatment, promoting targeted immune activation while limiting toxicity. Learn more.

Kudos

Congratulations to Canary Medical, who were honoured with “Best Overall Medical Device Solution” in the 8^th annual MedTech Breakthrough Awards program. Canary received the award for their Canturio Tibial Extension. Read more.

Kudos to Arsenal Biosciences on announcing the first patient dosed in their Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating a potential treatment for clear-cell renal cell carcinoma. Read more.

STEMCELL Technologies was selected as a winner of Canada’s Best Managed Companies program. This is their 6^th year receiving this recognition. Read more.

People on the Move

Medtech Canada welcomed James Brodie of Johnson & Johnson Medtech as chair of their Board of Directors. James is General Manager of Johnson & Johnson Medtech, and has held senior roles across Johnson & Johnson’s Medical Devices, Medical Technology, and Pharmaceutical divisions for 25 years. Read more.

Jennifer Schneider, M.D., M.S., was elected to Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Board of Directors as an independent director. Jennifer is Co-Founder and CEO of Homeward Health. Read more.

Applications Open

Health Research BC and the Canadian Behavioural Interventions and Trials Network have partnered for a new funding opportunity. Open to masters and doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, this one-year mentored training program offers a chance to expand your expertise in behavioural health clinical trials. Learn more.

See our expanded list of current life sciences opportunities on our website.

Member Spotlight

Versant Ventures is a leading healthcare venture capital firm committed to helping exceptional entrepreneurs build the next generation of great companies. The firm’s emphasis is on biotechnology companies that are discovering and developing novel therapeutics.

With $5.5 billion under management and offices in the U.S., Canada and Europe, Versant has built a team with deep investment, operating and R&D expertise that enables a hands-on approach to company building. Since the firm’s founding in 1999, more than 100 Versant companies have achieved successful acquisitions or IPOs. Learn more.

Until next week!

LSBC Team

May 23 - Join the excitement of BIO 2024 before the conference and learn about some of the innovative BC companies that will be attending.

Life Sciences BC is hosting a BC Delegation Spotlight: BIO San Diego webinar on May 23, 2024 from 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM PT, offering attendees an opportunity to gain insight into the innovative research and advancements in BC.

May 29 & 30 - LSBC, in partnership with Biotech Primer, is pleased to present BioBasics 101: The Biology of Biotech for the Non-Scientist.

This intensive two-day ‘master course’ is designed to help non-scientists gain a foundational understanding of the science that forms the backbone of biopharma.

Nimbus Synergies Unveils New Era of The GENERATOR Startup Hub

Nimbus Synergies is excited to announce the re-opening of The GENERATOR, a rent-free startup hub for health technology companies, at its new location on the corner of West Broadway and Oak Street in Vancouver...Read more.

Jennifer Schneider Elected to Vertex Board of Directors

 Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced that Jennifer Schneider, M.D., M.S., has been elected to its Board of Directors as an independent director. Dr. Schneider has more than two decades of experience in the health care industry as a physician, scientist and health care executive...Read more.

Labcorp Introduces First Trimester Screening Test to Assess Preeclampsia Risk during Pregnancy

Labcorp announced the launch of its first trimester preeclampsia screening test to be performed between 11 and 14 weeks gestation to determine the risk of developing preeclampsia before 34 weeks of pregnancy...Read more.

U.S. Medicines Spending Grew in 2023 as Greater Access Offset COVID-19-related Decline, Says IQVIA Institute

Overall spending in the U.S. market for medicines grew by 2.5% and reached $435Bn in 2023. Excluding the contribution from COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, spending grew at 9.9%, according to a new report from the IQVIATM Institute for Human Data Science...Read more.

CASTL Continues Partnership with UBC’s SBME to Deliver Introduction to Biopharma Manufacturing Course

The Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences partners with the School of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at UBC for a third year to deliver its customized Introduction to Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing course...Read more.

Cytiva Continues its Support for n-Lorem Foundation

Cytiva has donated approximately $700,000 worth of products and financial support to the n-Lorem Foundation. This is Cytiva’s third year of providing support to the foundation...Read more.

T-Series Centramate Product Line Expands for Advanced Therapy Applications

Cytiva is introducing a new addition to their T-Series Centramate cassettes engineered specifically for RNA and Lipid Nano Particles (LNP) applications. The addition of Delta regenerated cellulose membrane, 100 kDa MWCO, offers a solution designed to meet the unique needs...Read more.

AbbVie and Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals Announce Collaboration and Option-to-License Agreement to Develop Next-Generation Therapies for Psychiatric Disorders

AbbVie and Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals announced a collaboration and option-to-license agreement to develop next-generation therapies for psychiatric disorders. This collaboration will leverage AbbVie’s expertise in psychiatry and Gilgamesh’s innovative research platform...Read more.

James Brodie of Johnson & Johnson MedTech Appointed Chair of the Medtech Canada Board of Directors

Medtech Canada, the national association representing Canada’s medical technology companies, is very pleased to welcome James Brodie of Johnson & Johnson MedTech as Chair of their Board of Directors...Read more.

New Tools Help Teams Share Research Evidence with Communities

Researchers need guidance on meaningful ways to share research findings with communities. That’s why the BC SUPPORT Unit is launching two new tools. ‘Guidance for research ethics considerations in patient- and community-oriented knowledge dissemination’ is available for researchers...Read more.

Kardium Announces Enhanced Clinical Capabilities of the Globe® System with Right Atrial Ablation and Hybrid Energy Ablation

 Kardium Inc., a private medical device company that has developed the Globe® System for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, announced that it had successfully treated a series of patients delivering therapy in both the left and right atria...Read more.

Senior Research Associate I, Antibody Discovery & Engineering

Zymeworks is seeking a Senior Research Associate I to join the Antibody Discovery and Engineering group (ADE) within the ADC Therapeutic Development department. The ADE group is responsible for the discovery of therapeutic antibodies against tumor-associated antigens for the treatment of cancer...Learn more

Accountant

Xenon Pharmaceuticals is seeking an Accountant to support our Finance team across the different functions within the department. This is a great opportunity for an individual who enjoys working on a variety of tasks as key responsibilities for this position span across our accounts payable, finance, and general accounting functions...Learn more

Analytical/Bioanalytical Scientist, Chemistry

The successful candidate will play a key role within the Technology Development team to advance our nucleic acid delivery platforms and enable diverse endeavors with our collaborators. This position will report to the Senior Director, Chemistry...Learn more

Program Coordinator

The University Health Network We are looking for a Program Coordinator to help grow the Computational Biology and Medicine Program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre...Learn more.

Data Management Specialist

The University Health Network is looking for a Data Management Specialist to help grow the CBMP at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and curate and track multimodal data analyzed in the program...Learn more.

Research Scientist, Biology

SignalChem is looking for a highly motivated individual with in-depth knowledge of and extensive experience in cell signaling, preferably in the industry setting, to join its drugs discovery team as a research scientist...Learn more.

Material Management – Logistics Specialist II

This position is responsible for the oversight of overall inbound traffic of raw materials and supplies for the GMP Manufacturing group. Resulting in the coordination and collaboration with vendors, purchasing, accounting, manufacturing, process development, and project management...Learn more.

Application Scientist

The primary responsibilities of this role will be supporting a multidisciplinary team by providing support for the newest AtomForge technology. The focus will be on the small-molecule drug discovery market, with an emphasis on molecular dynamics and free energy calculations...Learn more.

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