It has been an active news cycle for our sector, as updates of major Covid 19 treatment developments circulate daily and grab headlines around the globe. Life beyond Covid seems unfamiliar, as it has taken over much of our daily lives, but many of our member companies are still working hard to find healthcare solutions for better patient outcomes. Zymeworks is conducting an open label, multi-center Phase 1b study for the treatment of certain types of breast cancers. InMed Pharmaceuticals announced the closing of US$8M public offering, and Kardium publicized the first clinical use of its Globe Positioning System (GPS™) - the new 3D mapping and navigation feature of its flagship product, the Globe® Mapping and Ablation System (all news releases are in Member News below).  And as we end the week, AbCellera just announced its filing to go public on the Nasdaq!  Congrats to everyone!  

Yesterday, we virtually hosted the Kelowna edition of our LifeSciences BC Showcase Series. A knowledgeable panel discussed cutting-edge research and development as well as health technology coming from the Okanagan. Joining us for this impressive Showcase were Dr. Julianne Barry and Dr. Deanna Gibson, both from the University of British Columbia, Okanagan, Dr. Devin Harris from Interior Health, Dr. James Miller of XCO Tech, and Anne Woods from Silicon Valley Bank. You can view the Showcase Series here.

On November 25^th we will be hosting another sector event Cytiva: Accelerating your Therapeutic Process to Meet your Milestones and Bring your Vision to Life with guest speakers: Caroline Auclaire-Daigle, NRC, Ken Elder, Cytiva, Patrick McMahon, Fast Trak Biomanufacturing Services, and Dr. Arun Raturi, Entos Pharmaceuticals. This should be a very interesting discussion.  You can register for this free virtual event here.

LifeSciences BC is pleased to congratulate our Board of Directors’ member, Anne Stevens, on her new role with AbCellera, as Head of Business Partnering. We wish her the best of luck as she joins one of B.C.’s most innovative companies. Another shout out for our community this week is LSBC’s Platinum sponsor Glaxo Smith Kline was named one of Canada’s Best Employers! And last, but certainly not least, congratulations on being voted one of the 2020 Women Leaders in Digital Health Lynda Brown-Ganzert, CEO, Curatio! A reminder this is Digital Health Week from November 16-22, 2020, an annual initiative to recognize digital health and its role in the delivery of patient care across Canada. You can access more detail about the week here.

Another interesting development this week was the Federal Government introducing the Digital Charter Implementation Act.  The act contains the long awaited and most significant changes to Canada’s privacy law in decades.  Many of the proposed changes are aligned with the European Privacy regulations (GDPR) which came in force in 2018.  More information can be found here.

Finally, the latest health and safety measures from Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer, on the new Covid 19 Province-wide Restrictions and Workplace Safety Planning. You can review the WorkSafeBC COVID-19 Safety Plan guidelines here.  Together, we will get through this pandemic.  In the words of Dr. Bonnie Henry, “Be Kind. Be Calm. Be Safe.”