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.

Life Sciences BC News, March 14, 2024

A renaissance of BC’s “Biotech Boom” was the Globe and Mail cover story on March 9. In this in-depth article, Sean Silcoff spotlights the exciting things happening across the broad and diverse life sciences sector while providing a retrospective overview of how we got to where we are today. Looking at both challenges and opportunities, Silcoff paints a promising, yet practical picture of the sector. 

Silcoff warns of the hazards that could potentially halt the growth of the sector, which include funding, physical capacity, and the gravitational pull of the US.

In line with findings in our recent labour market intelligence report, one of the other factors is lack of talent. “Canada lacks experienced executives who have led drug developers to market because few companies have made it.”

Despite the track record in BC, there are a few promising companies determined bring BC and Canada into the “global big leagues”. “That crop—led by AbCellera, Acuitas, Aspect, Xenon and STEMCELL—seem determined to build executive capacity here.” Silcoff confirms, “What isn’t lacking is a will to win.”

Read full article (subscription required) here.

Access article via Globe2Go here. 

Member Highlights 

AbCellera tackles the problem of delivering biologics across the blood brain barrier in a new collaboration with Biogen. This work has the potential to unlock multiple new approaches to treating neurological conditions. Read more. 

Qu Biologics, a clinical phase company with their novel platform of Site Specific Immunomodulators that is designed to restore innate immunity announces $450K in funding over three years. This funding has been awarded in partnership with TransBIOTech and will go towards expanding preclinical and translational programs while Qu Biologics has two Phase 2 clinical trials underway. Read more. 

Eupraxia announces overnight marketed public offering of common shares. Eupraxia will issue 7,317,000 Shares at a price of C$4.10 per Share for gross proceeds of C$30 million. The Offering is expected to close on or about March 15, 2024. Read more.

WELL Health announces growth milestones in user adoption and the launch of a new “Health Messenger”. As technology continues to improve the patient experience, WELL Health’s platform, OceanMD facilitates digital patient referrals and intake, with over 37,000 active users. Launch of OceanMD’s mobile-first Health Messenger will help improve and secure communications between healthcare providers and patients. Read more. 

UBC faculty of medicine releases a groundbreaking study reporting a simpler, less invasive approach to treating cervical cancer that results in better quality of life for patients. Read more. 

LifeLabs introduces at-home kits to test hormone health. This is another way the patient experience is improving with non-invasive, convenient, and reliable self-tests. Read more. 

Filament Health’s feature in Tricycle Day News talks to CEO and co-founder Ben Lightburn about the advantages of botanical medicine, building a psychedelic pharma company without drug patents, and how Filament is making psilocybin accessible. Read more. 

Industry Highlights

Office of the Premier releases statements acknowledging the National Day of Observance for COVID-19, remembering and honouring the Canadians who were lost and the acknowledging the efforts of those on the front lines. Read more. 

BC government in partnership with BC Cancer, Provincial Laboratory Medicine Services, Vancouver General Hospital and BC Children’s Hospital announces improved access to Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) therapy. Intake and patient assessment began in January 2024 with the first treatment starting in March 2024. Read more.

Kudos

Congratulations to Jennifer Cudlipp, Chief Operating Officer of LifeLabs for nomination for the esteemed Women of Distinction Awards by the Metro Vancouver YWCA organization. Read more. 

Congratulations to Earlene Gibbons, Associate VP of Operational Technology at United Therapeutics, for being named one of Mission Critical Magazine's Top 25 Women in Technology for 2024. Read more. 

People on the Move

Troy Loss joins Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals as Vice President CMC, as announced on Linkedin.

Nicholas J. Rossettos joins Sernova as interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The company has initiated a formal search for a permanent CFO and is also actively recruiting additional talent to fill key leadership roles. Read more. 

Numinus announces Edwin Garner’s retirement from its Board of Directors. Mr. Garner has been a member of the Numinus Board since May 2020 and served on the Company’s Audit and Compensation Committees. The Board additionally announces the appointment of Donna Wilson and Donna Wong as directors. Read more.

Applications Open

The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service in Singapore, in partnership with the provinces of Ontario and Alberta is supporting Canadian client attendance at Medical Fair Asia in Singapore from September 11-13, 2024. To express your interest or to learn more, please contact Mr. Andrew Threlfall, Life Sciences Trade Commissioner at andrew.threlfall@international.gc.ca, and cc Ms. Norliyah Jamal at norliyah.jamal@international.gc.ca. 

Cytiva and Testa Center are inviting scientific companies and researchers to compete for the opportunity to test their technologies in a standard biomanufacturing environment in Uppsala, Sweden. The contest is for emerging biotechnology companies and academic researchers who need extra resources to help validate their technologies before moving to the next phase of development. Entries are accepted between March 11, 2024 and April 22, 2024. Learn more. 

UBC Science Co-op is accepting job postings for summer 2024. Private companies and research organizations are encouraged to apply for the Federal Government's Student Work Placement Program (SWPP). Learn more about the SWPP here. Send your job description to info@sciencecoop.ubc.ca or fill out our online form here. 

AstraZeneca Canada and Plan International Canada announces the official launch of the Eureka Fellowship for Youth Changemakers in Canada (Eureka Fellowship).Youth living in Canada between the ages of 18 to 30 – who are actively working to make a positive impact in one of three key sustainability areas are strongly encouraged to apply. Applications for the Eureka Fellowship are now open and close on April 23, 2024. Learn more. 

BC Tech has extended the application deadline for this year’s Technology Impact Awards to midnight on March 26, across all 9 award categories and Hall of Fame nominations! Learn more.

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

Upcoming LSBC events and programs at-a-glance

April 4 - Our upcoming McCarthy Spotlight Speaking Series is titled "AI Advancing Life Science Innovation."

This second event in the series will feature speakers at the cutting edge of AI, discussing how this powerful tool can be applied to augment human creativity to further innovation. 



April 11 - The Life Sciences BC Showcase Series: Vancouver Island event is a unique opportunity to learn more about developments in the region and what kinds of cutting-edge research and innovation are happening on the Island.

The event will feature a range of sector-leading guest speakers from the ecosystem.

April 25 - We are thrilled to launch our inaugural Digital Health Conference on April 25, 2024. 

This day-long event will connect sector leaders for in-depth discussions on the important role digital health has in the future of healthcare.

Until next week,

The LSBC team

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A company that takes on the toughest health challenges. AbbVie’s mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people’s lives across several key therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology, women’s health and gastroenterology, in addition to products and services across its Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.ca and www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbviecanada on Twitter or find us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. LEARN MORE.

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Associate, Biomaterials

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Vice President, Process Development & Manufacturing

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Business Development Intern

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Senior Manager, Quality Assurance, GMP

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Research Scientist 3, Computational Chemistry

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